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Art & Entertainment, Good Culture

Youtube’s New Profanity Policy

Holly_Johnston contributor

Youtube’s New Profanity Policy

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To many creators’ shock and frustration, YouTube is cracking down on inappropriate content.

Of all the platforms, who would’ve thought YouTube would be the one to clean up its act?

I remember a time when YouTube brought middle school sleepovers to life. It was the platform that brought us videos of cartoon animals exploding, boobie-trap zombie mazes, and characters with colorful vocabularies (who can forget Jenna Marbles). It was ridiculous, inappropriate, and sometimes disturbing, but oh-so fun.

Satisfying YouTube’s creators and advertisers simultaneously has become a tricky balancing act. According to a recent Forbes article, ‘YouTube has accounted for upwards of a third of all Internet traffic’ and it has done a lot to monetize that content. In an attempt to make it more ‘advertiser friendly,’ YouTube is upping its restrictions against profanity and violence.

As platforms like YouTube experience pressure to appeal to advertisers, what could this mean for the future of content? Could unwelcome changes lead creators to migrate to new platforms? Let’s dive into the policies to get a better understanding of what’s on the horizon.

YouTube’s New Profanity Policy

Before we get into the consequences, let’s break down the new policy. In November 2022, YouTube created new advertiser-friendly content guidelines, that limited ads or even completely demonetized a creator's video if there was profanity within the first 15 seconds.

The most frustrating part for creators is that these restrictions were applied to videos that were released before the policy went into place. Creators were outraged as their videos were suddenly “demonetized out of the blue”. That would be like your parents taking your phone away as punishment for that party you threw 6 years ago in high school.

Another frustrating feature, the swearing policy treats all varieties of profanity equally. There are no differentiations based on level of severity with the exception of "hell" and "damn." In addition, using profanity consistently throughout the video could also result in demonetization. Similar restrictions are in place for violent content.

Overall, content creators are fed up with the lack of communication and their lack of power compared to YouTube. It’s another example of how creators’ livelihoods are often subject to the whims of big tech companies.

The Pushback

Why YouTube thought its creators were going to sit back quietly is beyond me. After all, this is YouTube we’re talking about: a platform for innovators and disruptors. After numerous complaints from creators, YouTube is apparently listening to concerns and will soon be updating its policy.

The alternatives who could take over

If YouTube is beginning to restrict content in 2023, who knows what the platform will look like a few years from now?

I suspect that If YouTube stops letting the kids drink in the house (so to speak) they’re gonna throw their own parties elsewhere, and those parties are gonna be wild.

When YouTube no longer wants to host mature content, to whom will it pass the torch?

For comedians who are posting YouTube shorts, the new restrictions may cause them to choose other platforms like TikTok. Maybe users will migrate even more to Twitch and Reddit, which have been waiting to take larger chunks of the available market share.

Perhaps the less-popular-but-similar platforms like Dailymotion or Utreon will grow in popularity as a result of having fewer content restrictions.

Apparently, there are sites like DTube, where there’s no censorship, no ads, and users actually receive money for uploading videos. Even weirder- people who comment on videos can get paid in crypto. Will this be the next major platform for rebel creatives?

Bitchute is another YouTube alternative platform that really prides itself on freedom of speech. (It looks kinda scary tbh)

Maybe the next YouTube will be something entirely new that hasn’t even been conceptualized yet; an app that favors creators, gives them more control and agency, and provides a more reliable source of income. Perhaps the idea for this future platform is just sitting in someone’s iPhone notes app right now…

Final Thoughts

There are numerous possibilities, but for now, creators just have to tiptoe around YouTube’s new guidelines and hope that YouTube won’t be taking it any further. If they do continue to restrict content, perhaps a new platform will emerge as a better home for creators.

What are your thoughts on YouTube’s new profanity policy? Share them below!