YouTube now lets creators earn from videos with profanity limited to the first seven seconds, easing its ad policy.
YouTube is modifying its regulations regarding profanity to enable creators to monetize videos that contain profanity, as long as the profanity is restricted to the initial seven seconds of the video.
YouTube altered its policies in November 2022, rendering creators who employed profanity within the initial 8-15 seconds of their videos potentially ineligible for advertising revenue.
The company altered its rules again in March 2023, this time to allow for limited ad revenue for videos that do not contain profanity in the majority of the video, following significant backlash.
Conor Kavanagh, YouTube’s director of monetization, announced the most recent modifications in a video posted late on Tuesday. He explained that the changes implemented two years ago were implemented to ensure that YouTube videos were consistent with broadcast standards.
“To comply with broadcast standards, we implemented this policy; advertisers anticipated that YouTube advertisements would maintain a buffer zone between profanity and the most recent advertisement.”
He stated, “Those expectations have evolved, and advertisers have already accomplished the capability of tailoring content to their desired level of profanity.”
He observed that the monetization potential of videos may be restricted if creators include moderate or vigorous profane words in the title or thumbnail.