Now, I'm going to be dealing with the actual text of the changes as written below, but I'd like to point out a
Council of Geeks video that takes on the topic, as well as Mutahar's
look at it from the SomeOrdinaryGamers channel. There is deliberate bad language in the latter, so be aware, it may not be safe to play audibly at work.
Before I take on the changes, though, I do want to mention the text of another email I received:
Hi Emilly Orr,
Important changes that may impact your monetization and content discoverability are coming.
Starting today, all creators are required to tell us if their content is made for kids in order to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and/or other applicable laws. To help you comply, we are introducing a new audience setting in YouTube Studio.
Depending on the amount of made for kids content on your channel, you can set your audience at either the channel level or the video level. For those who are setting at the channel level, it is just one click.
So this is YouTube's supposedly "helpful" graph on who needs to pick what setting. My way was clear--as I'm planning (if I can EVER afford a good microphone!) to enter the realm of absolutely non-monetizeable horror narration--to pick
NO kids' content whatsoever, but for other content creators, it's going to be something of a battle. Due to the provisions mentioned below, even clicking "partial" on this scale will likely remove monetization options for creators. There's no way to win.
These changes are required as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and NY Attorney General, and will help you comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and/or other applicable laws.
So, what exactly is changing? Well, as the email goes on to say:
What is changing?
Starting today, all creators are required to mark their content as made for kids or not made for kids in YouTube Studio.
Starting in January: we will limit the data we collect on made for kids content to comply with the law. This means we will disable personalized ads on this content (which affects revenue for creators making content for kids), as well as certain features like comments, notifications and others. Note: You may see some small changes as we experiment and refine our systems over the next few months.
For a list of affected features, go here.
Those features pretty much go more into detail on the above, but it all boils down to this:
- If you own a YouTube channel, and it has even one video, or if you EVER intend to upload even ONE video, you now MUST BY LAW pick one of the three options--and you have to do that either once, for your full channel, or per video, for EVERY SINGLE VIDEO YOU UPLOAD.
- You HAVE to use the website's YouTube Studio to pick and set your settings. Want to do it by phone in the YouTube API? Tough. Want to stay in YouTube Classic? Sucks to be you. You HAVE to pick one of the settings, and you HAVE to set it in YouTube Studio.
- And if you think, hell, it's a big service, like they'll notice if I don't set the thing by January, this can't possibly matter...oh, you sweet summer child. YouTube won't kick hard alt-right synpathizers off their platform, but with the full weight of COPPA and the FTC's hammer hanging over you, you really don't want to swing and miss on this one.
So. This was the first email I received from YouTube:
We’re updating our Terms of Service (“Terms”) to improve readability and transparency. This update does not change the Google Privacy Policy, nor the way we collect and process your data.
We’ve provided a summary of key changes but here’s what you can expect:
- Terms that are clearer and easier to understand with useful links to help you navigate YouTube and better understand our policies.
- Expanded commitments to notify you about changes that may affect you, such as product updates or future changes to the Terms; and
- Better alignment between our Terms and how YouTube works today.
The new Terms will take effect on 10 December, 2019. Please make sure you read the updated Terms carefully. If you would like more information, you can find additional information in our Help Center.
If you allow your child to use YouTube Kids, then please note that you are agreeing to the new Terms on behalf of your child as well.
This was the first line in the email to YouTube creators that had people worried. In a strictly legal sense, the only way a child can legally enter into a contract situation is by parental permission, or emancipated permission. If the latter, that child is legally responsible for their own actions, due to the emancipation, or at the very least, their court-appointed guardian is responsible for their actions.
But, as very few children--and, I would hazard to guess,
no children under 13, which is the cut-off age for full COPPA provisions--are emancipated, it falls on the parents. Which makes those parents culpable for any problems their child causes on YouTube. In some cases this may legally involve a federal fine--the amount $40,000 has been tossed around, but apart from Mutahar's video, I haven't found mention of that anywhere else--but
any financial fine is an issue, and may well involve parents ceasing their child's viewership of YouTube as a precautionary measure.
You can always review your privacy settings and manage how your data is used by visiting your Google Account.
Thank you for being part of the YouTube community!
Yeah, right. So. This brings us to the terms.
I'm only going to cover the changes from their existing ToS. This is made a little more difficult because, in addition to adding provisions, YouTube has substantially changed the language of the entire document.
Who may use the Service?
Age Requirements
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. However, children of all ages may use YouTube Kids (where available) if enabled by a parent or legal guardian.
Permission by Parent or Guardian
If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Service. Please have them read this Agreement with you.
If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18, by allowing your child to use the Service, you are subject to the terms of this Agreement and responsible for your child’s activity on the Service. You can find tools and resources to help you manage your family’s experience on YouTube in our Help Center and through Google’s Family Link.
So this part's fairly clear. They are now stating formally that while
LEGALLY they are only permitted to allow individuals 13 and up to use the whole of the service, that the YouTube Kids section now authorizes 12 and below individuals to use
that service--and that service alone. And, as mentioned above, parents are solely responsible for anything their children do in the YouTube Kids area, or any other section of YouTube.
Your Use of the Service
Content on the Service
The content on the Service includes videos, audio (for example music and other sounds), graphics, photos, text (such as comments and scripts), branding (including trade names, trademarks, service marks, or logos), interactive features, software, metrics, and other materials whether provided by you, YouTube or a third-party (collectively, "Content”).
Content is the responsibility of the person or entity that provides it to the Service. YouTube is under no obligation to host or serve Content. If you see any Content you believe does not comply with this Agreement, including by violating the Community Guidelines or the law, you can report it to us.
This was the second point of worry for people. Now, every company has the right to refuse service, that's sort of an everywhere law. But this was the first time YouTube has specifically stated they have no obligation to host or serve content
at all. There's a much longer, more involved layout of how an individual can use YouTube; all that's been thrown out in the new terms for "We host what we want to host, deal".
Account Suspension and Termination
Terminations by You
You may stop using the Service at any time. Follow these instructions to delete the Service from your Google Account, which involves closing your YouTube channel and removing your data. You also have the option to download a copy of your data first.
Terminations and Suspensions by YouTube for Cause
YouTube may suspend or terminate your access, your Google account, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the Service if (a) you materially or repeatedly breach this Agreement; (b) we are required to do so to comply with a legal requirement or a court order; or (c) we believe there has been conduct that creates (or could create) liability or harm to any user, other third party, YouTube or our Affiliates.
Terminations by YouTube for Service Changes
YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the Service if YouTube believes, in its sole discretion, that provision of the Service to you is no longer commercially viable.
This is another
huge red flag, especially for users of YouTube. What, precisely, defines "no longer commercially viable"? If it's "does not raise income for YouTube",
MILLIONS of user accounts--including my own--are on the chopping block. If it's "no longer monetizeable", that's
another problem, because by YouTube's own previous terms, much of the LGBT community's video output, most news channels, all horror narration channels, nearly everyone covering true crime and urban legend stories, in
addition to the great number of accounts that put together historical reference content for colleges concerning historical incidents of racism, bigotry, and genocide...well, all those are gone, too. So what exactly do they mean? Sanitized, kid-friendly content that never references drugs, alcohol, mishaps or mature language? But then we're backed into the corner of, if we only upload 100% safe-for-five-year-olds content,
these videos cannot be monetized anyway save for the largest channels, and even
they've seen a radical reduction of advertising on their content for over six months. So what does YouTube mean by "no longer commercially viable"?
Notice for Termination or Suspension
We will notify you with the reason for termination or suspension by YouTube unless we reasonably believe that to do so: (a) would violate the law or the direction of a legal enforcement authority, or would otherwise risk legal liability for YouTube or our Affiliates; (b) would compromise an investigation or the integrity or operation of the Service; or (c) would cause harm to any user, other third party, YouTube or our Affiliates. Where YouTube is terminating your access for Service changes, where reasonably possible, you will be provided with sufficient time to export your Content from the Service.
Effect of Account Suspension or Termination
If your Google account is terminated or your Google account’s access to the Service is restricted, you may continue using certain aspects of the Service (such as viewing only) without an account, and this Agreement will continue to apply to such use. If you believe your Google account has been terminated in error, you can appeal using this form.
By extension, this section has been completely revised. Formerly, the Terms of Service detailed specific reasons that a user's account could be terminated. This is both more specific, and more vague, in that they no longer lay out what needs to be done to kill someone's account, just vague considerations of general behavior. On the one hand, I understand, if someone specifically lays out that the first eight letters of the alphabet are taboo, users determined to get around the rules could take that as the rest of the alphabet being alloowed. With this version, it's more "We'll decide what's bad, but we'll tell you", without giving specific provisions as to what, exactly, YouTube qualifies as "bad".
The other part that has people largely getting hysterical is the "
Terminations by YouTube for Service Changes" section. As the Council of Geeks video points out, while it can be taken
on the surface as saying, if a user loses their YouTube account access, they will also lose all Google/Gmail service access, but I tend to agree that interpretation is imprecise, at best. I believe what they are saying is, if Jane Whimsoe is a YouTuber content provider, and Jane loses access to her YouTube account through misbehavior, that neither she on YouTube, nor she through use of Gmail or other Google account options, will be able to
access YouTube
as a content provider in any way.
But overall, what they've done with these changes is vague everything up. There are very few exacts in the new Terms of Service; just general unspecified terminology that things could be bad if we do something YouTube thinks isn't viable, saleable, or airable. Which conceivably could be...everything.
I guess, buckle up for December, folks, and let's see how bad it gets then.
