YouTube Addresses Concerns About Its Video Claiming Policy, Promises Changes

YouTube’s video claiming policy has always had its flaws, but thanks to recent videos from prominent creators like The Nostalgia Critic and GradeAUnderA, the video site’s community is hungry for change. Those creators, along with several others who rely on the legal doctrine of fair use in order to protect their videos, believe YouTube’s current video policing system puts too much power in the hands of claimants and does not sufficiently punish those who file fraudulent takedown requests.

If a tweet YouTube’s CEO sent out on February 26th is any indication, however, the video site’s controversial policy might be about to change. On her Twitter feed, Susan Wojcicki thanked creators for their feedback and linked to a post in YouTube’s Help Forum, where an employee named Spencer hinted at several changes the site plans to make within its policy division.

Spencer’s post outlines the impact user feedback has had on the decision-making process of YouTube’s policy team. “It’s caused us to look closely at our policies and helped us identify areas where we can get better,” he writes. “It’s led us to create a team dedicated to minimizing mistakes and improving the quality of our actions. And it’s encouraged us to roll out some initiatives in the coming months that will help strengthen communications between creators and YouTube support. We’ll also make improvements to increase transparency into the status of monetization claims. And of course, as we work to implement these improvements as quickly as we can, we’ll continue to take your feedback seriously.”

Without hearing more details about the “initiatives” YouTube plans to roll out, it is hard to tell how substantive any changes will be. It is important to remember that, in many aspects, the video site’s hands are tied: If it makes significant changes to its video claiming policy, it risks shedding the protection offered to it by the “safe harbor” provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Should it lose its safe harbor status, YouTube would potentially expose itself to lawsuits from media companies like Viacom, which have sued it many times in the past.

While a major overhaul of YouTube’s video claiming system isn’t likely, the video site can still make minor tweaks so that its creators — in particular the ones who rely on fair use — feel less threatened. Its previous actions, specifically its pledged legal support for specific creators whose videos exemplify fair use, hint at the direction its future “initiatives” could head.

Creators who want serious YouTube policy reform shouldn’t celebrate just yet, but Wojcicki’s tweet and the post attached to it are two pieces of good news. They show that YouTube is listening to its most aggrieved users and wants to help them in tangible ways, even if it might not be able to allay every single one of their complaints.