YouTube Contemplates New Rules Against Profanities After Pushback From Users

If you’ve been on YouTube in the last few years, you might have noticed a few content creators actively steering themselves away from using cuss words or bleeping them out during editing. Some YouTubers have been relatively honest with why they do so, explaining that it prevents them from being demonetized and can help push their channel to a wider audience. In the end, that doesn’t stop what is meant to be a social media platform from suddenly feeling like you’re watching daytime television.
 
YouTube videos rose to popularity since regular everyday people were now put in charge of making content for other ordinary folks. It was a departure from scripted shows and a window into the lives of people worldwide. With that, swearing would come naturally to many and added a layer of relatability.
 
The platform’s new rule, introduced in November, looks to dampen down on using cuss words even further. The policy would remove advertisements on videos where someone swears within the first 15 seconds. In addition, if the footage has “focal usage” of swear words in the title or if profanities dominate the content within the first seven seconds, it could also be wholly demonetized.
 
It might not seem like the harshest rule YouTube has in its playbook, but the platform has taken to implement this new change to older videos as well retroactively. This effectively cuts off revenue creators might have gotten when people watch what they have uploaded in the past. According to Kotaku, some users have tried appealing the new clause to no avail. On top of that, the company seems to be preventing people from editing these videos.

I am so sorry to have to keep tweeting this - but overnight, 6 more of my videos have now become limited suddenly, including my Best of 2020. No notification from YouTube at all on any of these. This is genuinely awful @TeamYouTube pic.twitter.com/UHfSJA1FCt

— RTGame Daniel (@RTGameCrowd) December 29, 2022

YouTube has had a history of not promptly telling its users the exact do’s and don’ts with filming and editing. As a result, it has often left people unsure why they’re being demonetized or copyrighted. They are only made aware of such implementations after they have lost money on a video. 
 
Moving forward, this might not herald the end of the platform, but it’s easy to see why some creators have branched out to Twitch and TikTok as a sort of backup should things go awry on YouTube.
 
Thankfully it seems as if some action is being taken as, according to TechCrunch, the platform is listening to its creators and looking to adjust the policy. As of right now, though, what that exactly entails remains unseen.
 
 
 
[via Engadget and TechCrunch, Photo 257116384 © Pavel Muravev | Dreamstime.com]