YouTube adjusts ad guidelines to enable full monetization on breastfeeding videos

YouTube is slackening its advertiser-friendly content guidelines to provide more revenue streams for certain creators. The leading video platform will permit “full monetization” on breastfeeding videos and content that depicts “non-sexually graphic dance.”

The update on breastfeeding videos will relax a previous policy that prohibited ads on any clips that showed areolas or other types of nudity. Creators will now be able to monetize those videos even when areolas are visible. There’s only one catch: Breastfeeding videos must include children in order to qualify as advertiser-friendly; otherwise, they will remain demonetized, pursuant to YouTube’s preexisting policy.

YouTube cited this clip from The Thompson Method as an example of a video that will be monetizable under the new policy. “We heard feedback that for many parents, videos about breastfeeding are a helpful resource as they navigate this stage of parenthood,” reads a statement from a YouTube spokesperson. “We hope these changes can give all creators more space to share this type of content with eligibility for ad revenue.”

The shift will put YouTube in line with other major video platforms. In 2020, Twitch updated its own policy to bring more nuance to its guidelines on Nudity and Attire.

YouTube is also adopting a more permissive policy when it comes to dance. Creator choreography will be eligible for full monetization as long as it does not include mimicked sexual acts, excessively minimal clothing, or recurring shots that feature breasts, butts, or genitalia.

Those changes were conveyed via YouTube’s Creator Insider channel, which has become a vital source for users who wish to learn about policy updates. The Creator Insider video about the new ad-friendly guidelines notes that clips with “twerking” and “grinding” will now be eligible for more monetization than in the past.

That video also alludes to another recent YouTube update. The platform is working on localized captions that dub videos into world languages, and those subtitles can be enabled on the latest Creator Insider upload.