YouTube videos that contain inappropriate language within the first seven seconds (such as the word “fuck”) are now eligible for full monetization, according to a video from Conor Kavanagh, YouTube’s head of monetization policy. Previously, such videos were only eligible for limited ad.
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Changes to YouTube’s policies regarding inappropriate language have long been a problem for creators. In November 2022, the platform began potentially limiting ad revenue on videos that contained profanity in the first 8–15 seconds. ProZD, whose real name is SungWon Cho, posted a video in which, after waiting 15 seconds, he called the policy “the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.” (He later said the video in question was de-mergered.)
YouTube revised its policy in March 2023, now allowing profanity in the first 8–15 seconds without blocking ad revenue. When asked about the new change on Tuesday, ProZD replied: “It’s about time, damn it.”
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YouTube initially limited monetization for videos containing inappropriate language in the beginning, in order to “align with the standards of traditional broadcast media,” Kavanagh says. “Advertisers expected their YouTube ads to have a distance from the vulgarity that was just heard.” However, “those expectations have changed,” he adds, “and advertisers now have the ability to target content based on the level of profanity they consider acceptable.”
Although the only specific example of "strong" profanity that Kavanagh cites is the word "fuck," he explains that YouTube considers words like "asshole" or "bitch" to be "moderate" profanity, he says characteristically.
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YouTube will continue to restrict commercialization in cases where moderate or strong profanity is used in titles or thumbnails. Also, videos that contain frequent inappropriate language still violate YouTube's advertiser-friendly content guidelines , Kavanagh said
Source: theverge
