Things You Didn’t Know About YouTube COPPA
Did you comply with the new YouTube COPPA requirements? As of Jan 1st, 2020, all content creators, regardless of their location, must label their videos whether they are directed to children or not.
In this article, I will share with you the frequently asked questions about the new YouTube, COPPA and FTC updates. If you are creating kids content or not sure whether your content will be categorized as directed to kids or not then watch the video till the end as there will be some sort of positive action you should take.
According to the FTC definition of kids or children directed content, that they will be evaluating videos against these criteria:
- The video’s visual content
- The subject matter of the video
- The video is having child-oriented activities and incentives or animated characters
- Age of models featured in the video
- Audio or Music content in the video (nursery rhymes or kids songs)
- The video is having child celebrities or celebrities who appeal to children
- The video language is intended for children to understand
- Whether advertising, promoting or appearing on the website or online service is directed at children
According to COPPA, if you created a video and you have not marked it as directed to kids under 13 years old then you could be fined more than $40K per video. Your YouTube account could be terminated if you have a lot of these videos on your channel.
Let’s see some of the frequently asked questions about the new updates:
What if you marked your content is not for children while YouTube and FTC are having another opinion?
As per Google’s recommendation, you should seek legal council to be sure that you mark your video appropriately. Subsequently, if you fail to categorize your content correctly, there may be consequences on YouTube and some legal consequences under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) .
What will happen if you mark your video as directed for kids?
Consequently, you will lose some of the features like comments, personal ads, cards & end screen and notification bell.
What will happen if you mark your channel as directed for kids?
You channel will lose some of the features such as the community posts, stories and notification bell.
What will happen to your earnings if your channel was marked for kids?
To clarify, personalized ads will disappear and the CPM will drop dramatically and you can lose more than 50% of your revenues according to the research done by Tubefilter.
How this all happened?
It all started when YouTube has violated FTC regulation as they’ve been gathering personalized data from children under 13 years old so that they can serve targeted personalized ads. They have paid a huge fine.
What can you do now?
YouTube is using their machines to identify the content that is directed to children. You should set your channel’s audience and videos as made to kids or not.
Furthermore, you can join me and other creators to leave a comment on the FTC website and you can sign a petition on change.org website “SAVE Family-Friendly Content on YouTube”.
We are still in the review period for FTC and COPPA so there is time for some things to be revised or changed. Nobody can see into the future.
In conclusion, any video you see on YouTube is just information from that person research and point of view. It’s your responsibility to do your decision and move forward safely. This is not a legal advice.
Links:
Leave a comment on the FTC website:
https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=FTC-2019-0054-0001
Sign The Petition “SAVE Family-Friendly Content on YouTube”
https://www.change.org/p/youtubers-and-viewers-unite-against-ftc-regulation
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