Faced with the huge outcry over its swear words policy, YouTube is backpedaling… gently.
Videographers can therefore once again utter words viewed with suspicion by the platform’s algorithm without being demonetized. But this magnanimity on YouTube’s part comes with many conditions.
The videographers’ sh!tstorm worked…
In its crusade against swear words, YouTube has pushed the red button in recent months by threatening content creators with having their videos demonetized when they swear. A policy that has, unsurprisingly, caused a lively controversy within the community.
The Google subsidiary therefore split a my culpa by loosening the screws around these extremely strict rules on name-calling. She has indeed declared that she has reviewed her policy, which she considers to have resulted in a stricter approach than expected (thanks Captain Obvious?).
The so-called “ad-friendly” guidelines have therefore received effective modifications since yesterday. These are also retroactive, and videos demonetized after the ban on swear words will be rehabilitated on a case-by-case basis by March 10. Because indeed, if the platform has reduced the sails on censorship, it has not completely eased off.
… at least in part
In a post from Google support, as well as in the video below, YouTube has therefore redefined the contours of the guidelines relating to insults and the monetization of videos that contain them.
Thus, the use of swear words “moderate” is now permitted at any time. On the other hand, using louder swear words like the nasty “f” word within the first 7 seconds of the video or repeatedly will result in limited ads and monetization. After the first 7 seconds, repeated use of insults (“moderate” as well as “strong”) will suffer the same fate. Swear words in video titles and thumbnails will result in the demonetization and removal of advertisements from them without further ado.
Once is not customary with YouTube, these guidelines lack clarity, for example on the definition of the border between a moderate and strong swear word, or on what the platform means by “repeatedly”. In any case, nothing will prevent its famous algorithm from taking, as usual, arbitrary and dubious decisions, which videographers will have all the trouble in the world to challenge.
Source : Google
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