YouTube is now making a move to decide which videos are part of its ad network. Apparently, there was a backlash around brand advertising on controversial content.
According to their blog post, Youtube has updated the guidelines that govern which videos can run ads. “We’ve heard loud and clear from the creator community and from advertisers that YouTube needs to broaden our advertiser-friendly guidelines around a few additional types of content,” Ariel Bardin, YouTube VP of product management, wrote.
So from now, Youtube will no longer be allowing:
- Content that promotes discrimination or disparages or humiliates an individual or group of people on the basis of the individual’s or group’s race, ethnicity, or ethnic origin, nationality, religion, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other characteristic associated with systematic discrimination or marginalization.
- Content that depicts family entertainment characters engaged in violent, sexual, vile, or otherwise inappropriate behavior, even if done for comedic or satirical purposes.
- Content that is gratuitously incendiary, inflammatory, or demeaning. For example, video content that uses gratuitously disrespectful language that shames or insults an individual or group.
It was also stated that videos that do not comply with their Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, AdSense Policies and ad-friendly guidelines will not be eligible for advertising.
Just to be clear, videos that fall into the categories above will be able to exist on YouTube, as long as they do not infringe the site’s terms and conditions but the YouTubers behind them simply won’t be able to make money via the site’s advertising platform.