COPPA on YouTube

[TreasonsBeta]

So... this is now a thing. What do you guys think about all of this? I know people who edit with Disney and have already been marked by YouTubes bots. A lot of people think any form of animation is for kids so even the AMV community will be affected.

Lawyer viewpoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwDrHOe43E
Nerdy gamer viewpoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0veLrwd9CK4

[James Blond]

I'm definitely worried. The interpretation of "anything with animation in it" being "for kids" might seem ridiculous, but to me, it also seems like the exact kind of assumption an out of touch boomer working for the FTC would make. :-/

I just finished marking every video on my YouTube channel as "for kids", just in case. This whole thing seems super dumb.

[lamrith]

Just watched those two videos and saw the Lawyer just posted this follow up.
I am wondering what everyone's thoughts are?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnvjuCTb54

[seasons]

So... this is now a thing. What do you guys think about all of this? I know people who edit with Disney and have already been marked by YouTubes bots. A lot of people think any form of animation is for kids so even the AMV community will be affected.

Lawyer viewpoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwDrHOe43E
Nerdy gamer viewpoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0veLrwd9CK4

On one hand, these people definitely have a much bigger investment in what's happening here than I do and have definitely put in more time to understand exactly what's going to happen and how this will affect everyone's channels than I do.

On the other hand, uploading a video that paints a doomsday scenario is definitely going to get views, whereas releasing a video that boils down to "this is really complicated, probably subject to change, no one really knows what's going to happen" is not going to be liked or shared by almost anyone.

I want to believe that "content creators" are good sources of information and advice here but I just don't know, I mean it's not like they don't have anything to gain by trying to stoke a mass panic over this. I daresay there's almost nothing left in this world that brings people together quite like a shared disdain for YouTube's policies and its barely-disguised contempt for the vast majority of its userbase. I still don't know what to believe, not really eager to upload anything new right now if I'm just going to be left worrying about whether or not I labeled it correctly (refusing to deal with this won't help me, I know I'm being asked to do this for every video I've ever uploaded and the day will come when I can't just put it off any longer).

[seasons]

Remember this massively condescending gem? Kind of surprised they have the balls to keep it online at this point.



The irony is thick, you can stir it with a stick.

[vkamv]

I just finished marking every video on my YouTube channel as "for kids", just in case. This whole thing seems super dumb.

But what happens if I label it "for kids" so that they don't fine me, but then they deem that the content is inappropriate for kids (which it might be since I didn't make it for kids), do I get in trouble for that? Seems like a lose lose situation.

[CrackTheSky]

I just finished marking every video on my YouTube channel as "for kids", just in case. This whole thing seems super dumb.

But what happens if I label it "for kids" so that they don't fine me, but then they deem that the content is inappropriate for kids (which it might be since I didn't make it for kids), do I get in trouble for that? Seems like a lose lose situation.

That's exactly what it is. The penalty in that case is that YouTube can just remove your video, but there's no fine attached, so it's probably the "better" option. The safest bet for AMV-oriented channels is to mark everything as "for kids".

My guess is that as time goes on and we see exactly what the fallout is, we'll have a better idea of what constitutes something as being "for kids". It's incredibly frustrating right now because everywhere I look (articles, discussions, even the FTC's own posting on the topic) seems to make the assumption that this should be a very black-and-white thing, where YouTube is only made up of either toddler-oriented sing-alongs and children's programming (as the average person would think of it), or "adult"-oriented content in the form of financial advice and home improvement projects. I would say a plurality, if not the majority, of content on YouTube actually falls somewhere in the middle, and nobody is actually giving any advice for such content. The cynical side of me thinks this is intentional on the FTC's part so that they can fine the bejeezus out of such creators, but who knows.

AMVs fall squarely into the "gray area" of all of this, almost without exception. I have no idea how to categorize any of my videos -- I'm not naive enough to think that my measly 600-something subscriber count would normally catch any official party's eye, but given that YouTube is going to be automating the detection of content that could be kid-directed, anything animation is going to be in the crosshairs and I'm frankly not keen on appealing fines and potentially having to get into a legal battle over a hobby whose overall legality is itself questionable.

I may be making more of this than it actually is, and I'm not one to spout doomsday scenarios with this kind of stuff, AND I don't know how this will all play out come January, but I'm going to be keeping my eye on anything AMV-related on YouTube. Although I normally download any video I like to keep on my HDD already, I'd recommend that others do the same because it wouldn't surprise me if you start seeing AMVs disappear from there when this all starts.

[lamrith]

Another video I am most of the way through and worth a watch. We are definitely in some unknown territory and I do not hink Youtube is helping the situation at all with their algorithm's and automatic changing of creator's video settings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXPmHe2EU3Q

Myself I am very torn on the situation. Part of me wonders if people like the lawyer in the original post video are fear mongering to drive up business?

[ngsilver]

Youtube's implimentation of the black/white approach to kids or not kids content is a detriment to the creator base, but that's what they did. AMVs almost always fall into the 'General Audience' category of the COPPA guidelines. Youtube just didn't impliment that into their configuration. Personally, I would set my content as Not for Kids (unless you really did aim to target your videos for the under 13 age bracket) and go that way. Youtube may deem your videos as 'kids content' and do their auto content switch thing if they wish, which will kill your ability to use community tools, comments, ect. But the monetization side of things should never be in the equation for AMVs.

The FTC has NO intention of going after a creator whom is aiming content at the General Audience. That area exists in the COPPA guidelines. I don't believe any of this will cause harm to any AMV creator that has their videos up on Youtube as far as fines from the FTC goes.

Either way, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Youtube is NOT a safe place for AMVs. It never has and certainly never will be after this.

[CrackTheSky]

Youtube may deem your videos as 'kids content' and do their auto content switch thing if they wish, which will kill your ability to use community tools, comments, ect. But the monetization side of things should never be in the equation for AMVs.

Do you have a source on this? I was not under the impression that YouTube would do any auto-switching of content based on their automation. I thought such automation was just to find videos that are potentially not in the correct content "bucket" and then either (a) remove the video, or (b) forward it to the FTC for them to take action.

The FTC has NO intention of going after a creator whom is aiming content at the General Audience. That area exists in the COPPA guidelines. I don't believe any of this will cause harm to any AMV creator that has their videos up on Youtube as far as fines from the FTC goes.

The issue is that whether AMVs are indeed aimed at a "general audience" is entirely subjective and up for debate. It seems obvious to me that most AMVs fall in the "general audience" category, but the FTC has likened implementation of COPPA in this way to shooting fish in a barrel, so I don't have much confidence that they care about the details. Although if you can point me to where in the COPPA guidelines it states this, that might ease my mind a bit.