Every child deserves to understand what they're watching.

My son, Cooper, is deaf.  Like so many kids, he loves watching videos and using apps designed for children. Since he was a baby, our household has had closed captioning turned on every device possible. But when he opens YouTube Kids, most of what he finds has no captions at all.

Unlike regular YouTube, YouTube Kids doesn't automatically caption videos. It's left entirely up to each creator to add their own — and while some do, most don't.

Every once in a while, Cooper stumbles on a video with captions, or an ASL interpreter in the corner of the screen, and his whole face lights up. He always voices his excitement over the accessible content he has come across. 

That feeling shouldn't be rare. It should happen every time he opens the app.

Captions don't just help Deaf and hard of hearing kids — they help children who are learning to read, kids learning English, and families watching together with the sound off. Accessibility helps everyone.

Millions of children use YouTube Kids every day. It shouldn't leave so many of them behind.

We're asking YouTube Kids to:

• Add automatic captions to every video
• Make captions easy to turn on and off
• Encourage creators to review and improve caption accuracy
• Continue expanding accessibility features like ASL and audio description

This problem has a solution. The leaders below help decide what features are added to YouTube and YouTube Kids. We are asking them to make accessibility a priority so every child has the chance to watch, learn, and belong.

• Neal Mohan – CEO, YouTube
  As CEO, Neal Mohan leads YouTube and helps set the company's priorities, including how YouTube creates safe, inclusive, and accessible experiences for children and families.
• Christian Oestlien – Vice President, Product, YouTube
  Christian Oestlien oversees major YouTube product teams and helps decide which new features and improvements are built across the platform
• James Beser – Senior Director, Product Management, YouTube
  James Beser leads product work focused on children, families, and parents, making him a key decision-maker for improvements to the YouTube Kids experience.
• Laura Allen – Director, Products for All, Google
  Laura Allen leads Google's accessibility strategy, helping ensure Google's products—including YouTube—are designed to be accessible for people with disabilities.

No child should have to wonder if they'll be able to understand the next video they click. Every child deserves to laugh, learn, and belong.

Please sign this petition and help make YouTube Kids accessible for every child.