On the Podcast: YouTube’s break for rule-breakers

FYI, Tubefilter has a podcast.

It’s hosted by our very own Joshua Cohen (that’s me) and Lauren Schnipper. Subscribe to Creator Upload on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

And we’re now also brought to you in part by Nikon. 

Head on over to the Team YouTube account on X, and you’ll see that a lot of what it does is respond to people who have somehow (often apparently unintentionally) violated YouTube‘s terms of service. Plenty of these people don’t come off like unrepentant rule-breakers who set out to cause problems. They come off like people who just want a way to figure out WTF they did, and how to fix it.

YouTube’s data backs that up: In a recent blog post, it said it’s actively working to reduce unintentional TOS violation, noting that 80% of creators who get a single Community Guidelines warning never offend again.

Up until recently, even if someone got a Community Guidelines warning by accidentally violating a rule, that warning was irreversible and unremovable. Now, though, YouTube is letting creators wipe warnings off their accounts by taking 15-minute courses.

The idea with these courses is to educate creators about the specific rules they broke. This is good for two reasons:

1. It gives creators more clarity on what happened and teaches them the nitty-gritty about guidelines they may not know and/or fully understand
2. Even more importantly, the very existence of these courses might push YouTube to be more precise when writing Community Guidelines, and when handing out warnings. If it’s going to teach people about how exactly to avoid violating TOS, it’s got to have policies that are clear-cut.

Either way, the courses are a sign that YouTube is trusting the vast majority of creators aren’t bad actors. And, with YouTube cutting them some slack, maybe creators will trust it a little more, too.

I get into all this and more with Lauren Schnipper on the latest installment of Creator Upload. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whenever you listen. You’re gonna dig it.

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