YouTube says it is tightening its policy around swearing in videos and advertisements

YouTube parent company Google promises to tighten its advertising policy regarding vulgar language. In November of 2022, a controversial new policy was introduced where swearing in the first 15 seconds of a video limited advertising opportunities.

In a statement to The Verge says the video platform: “In recent weeks, many ‘creators’ have spoken out about [het nieuwe advertentiebeleid]. This feedback is important to us and we are working to make some adjustments to this policy to address any concerns.” The company promises to provide more details as soon as possible. Much creators resist against the new rules, which not only affect new videos but also videos uploaded before the new rules came into effect.

In November it was announced by a new advertising policy harder for creators to monetize new and already published YouTube videos; if there is too much swearing or too soon after the start of a video, they will not be eligible for advertising and therefore no income. For example, videos that contain swearing in the first seven seconds are not eligible for ad revenue. If swearing occurs between 8 and 15 seconds after the start of a video, advertising revenue may be limited or completely denied.

Formerly Similar rules applied, although it was still up to advertisers to determine whether they wanted to show an ad for videos with vulgar language. Also, so far no distinction has been made between the type of content. With the new rules, musicians and comedians are allowed to immediately use swear words and may still be eligible for advertisements when swear words appear in the title or thumbnail of a video. Other creators are not allowed to do the latter at all.