YouTube is in hot water right now as a huge number of fans, creators, and aggregators shout from the rooftops that the new YouTube change is promoting censorship.
Before we get into anything specific, here’s the part making people livid:
This is essentially outlining when YouTube will strip advertising from videos using an algorithm that deems things “inappropriate.” Creators are seeing it as loss of money they can earn, and it certainly does seem that way. Their fans, in turn, are upset at the possibility that their favorite channels might disappear.
But here’s the thing: nothing has really changed.
YouTube’s "advertiser-friendly content guidelines" and policy on stripping ads from content has not changed at all. What has changed is how they alert users when they’re in breach of the policy. You can see it in the video manager now, instead of the analytics, and you can appeal it in a different way. Plus, it looks as though YouTube is just, well, using it more .
Here’s what a YouTube spokesperson told Buzzfeed :
“ While our policy of de-monetizing videos due to advertiser-friendly concerns hasn’t changed, we’ve recently improved the notification and appeal process to ensure better communication.”
The outcry is still warranted, though! We just don’t want the “change” itself to be misinterpreted -- YouTube’s de-monetization policy still deserves to be in the spotlight, and people are using the confusion as a platform to talk about their gripes with it.
What’s interesting is that we just wrote about this type of thing and how Zype handles it. Basically, we’re content agnostic even if your endpoints might not be, and we’ll help you navigate the labyrinth of content guidelines for places like Apple TV, Roku, and more if you decide to use Zype to distribute your OTT video content.
We’re glad this is being talked about, because while we understand that brands might not want to be associated with certain kinds of content through advertising, you should still have the opportunity to make money, or even a living, off whatever kind of video content you’d like to create. Whatever makes your fans happy, whatever gives you purpose.
How do you feel about YouTube’s de-monetization policies? Is it censorship to you, or just business?
