YouTubers Union demands more transparency regarding demonetization

guest · Jul 29, 2019

YouTubers Union demands more transparency regarding demonetization
German workers union IG Metall has joined the fight
July 29, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/81190...re-transparency-regarding-demonetization.html

In context: A group of YouTubers is unionizing to bring transparency to the platform. The YouTubers Union is a community of content creators who are like-minded on the site’s policies. The group was formed last year over conflicts between the platform and some YouTubers.

YouTubers Union has no real authority or power, but it has recently announced (below) a partnership with IG Metall, a powerful metalworker’s union in Germany.
The two organizations have begun a campaign called FairTube. The goal is to get YouTube to clarify its rules regarding how it decides to monetize and demonetize videos and to treat all content creators fairly.

It is unclear how much pull YouTube Union will have with the platform now that it has IG Metall’s help. It demands that YouTube respond to its requests by August 23. If it does not, IG Metall will be looking into the legality of YouTube’s policies as they apply in the European Union.
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guest · Aug 16, 2019

Watch Out Google, YouTubers Are Unionizing
August 14, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...g-metall-is-backing-youtubers-fighting-google

They complain that Google’s YouTube refuses to explain why it stops running advertisements alongside some videos. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote in a blogpost the move was in response to complaints by brands that their ads were being shown alongside “inappropriate” content. But creators aren’t explicitly told what rules they breached when a clip becomes ineligible for ads.

Regardless of whose side you’re on, the entry of a heavyweight labor union into this battle should be seen as a healthy test of its ability to rebalance the power dynamic between Google and the millions of people whose income derives from uploading videos to the site. The fight reflects how digital platforms have reconstructed the seemingly straightforward relationship between employer and employee.

IG Metall wants YouTube to be more transparent with its community of creators. The German union is inviting YouTubers to become members and is running a campaign called FairTube to press for better terms.
So what exactly can IG Metall do? A lawsuit is the most likely next step. The union claims that decisions made to de-monetize a video with no explanation contravene the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
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guest · Aug 20, 2019

We asked the world's biggest YouTubers if they support a union. None do
They're keeping silent
August 20, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-yo...gest-youtuber-channels-none-support-fairtube/

A YouTubers Union has joined forces with one of the biggest traditional labor unions in the world, exerting a pressure campaign aimed at getting the massive video site to negotiate on demands like exposing the rules of its algorithms
But you wouldn't know it by following the biggest YouTubers on the planet -- they're staying out of it.

We reached out to more than 30 of the most-subscribed YouTuber channels within the overall top 100. The smallest among them had more than 21 million subscribers. They're all "digital natives" -- none were the music superstars, traditional TV shows or major media companies that dominate YouTube's very top rankings.
But none of the biggest YouTubers would comment on the union or its FairTube campaign.
Most of them didn't respond at all.
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reasonablePrivacy · Aug 20, 2019

mood said: ↑

We asked the world's biggest YouTubers if they support a union. None do
They're keeping silent
August 20, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-yo...gest-youtuber-channels-none-support-fairtube/
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Well, it is dangerous for them to criticize YouTube. They depend on YouTube.

guest · Aug 23, 2019

YouTubers Union wants big changes from YouTube. Google just responded
It's an "extensive answer," the union says, without more detail
August 23, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/a-youtubers-union-wants-big-changes-from-youtube-google-just-responded/

After a year and a half of waiting, the YouTubers Union demanded that YouTube respond to its complaints by Friday or one of the world's biggest traditional labor unions would take the video site and parent company Google to court. Hours before the deadline, Google answered.

"We did receive an extensive answer from Google just now," Jörg Sprave, the founder of and spokesman for the YouTube Union, said in an email Friday. "We will need some time to go through it for evaluation in order to decide how we will react."
Google and YouTube didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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guest · Aug 24, 2019

Google Agrees to Meet with YouTubers Union Right Before Deadline
After 28 days, YouTube has agreed to meet with the YouTubers Union to discuss 'the future of work' but refuses to negotiate demands
August 23, 2019
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...et-with-youtubers-union-right-before-deadline

Sprave told Motherboard that Google wanted to "'discuss some fundamental questions about the future of work and won't negotiate our demands. Well, those demands will certainly play an important role anyway as they are designed to make sure that this 'future of work' will be transparent and fair for the workers."

Christiane Benner, IG Metall's chairwoman, said in a statement "the pressure we have made together with the YouTubers Union on Google and YouTube, has paid off. We have succeeded to bring Google to the table."

A Youtube spokesperson told Motherboard that "we explained to the union in great detail what YouTube is doing in terms of transparency and support for YouTubers. But we have also made clear that we are not going to negotiate their demands."
FairTube's demands have the potential to radically transform Google’s platform in Europe, if not the rest of the world.
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Soft Life · Aug 24, 2019

I'm sick of youtube trending videos and others like it. It is becoming nickelodeon in nature. Kids are being exploited for views with useless dribble and youtube is paying to have it done.

reasonablePrivacy · Aug 24, 2019

Soft Life said: ↑

I'm sick of youtube trending videos and others like it.
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Well, trending videos are certainly not demonetized.

Willy2 · Aug 25, 2019

- I think it's a good start. YouTube should clarify more thing than only the (de)monetization of the content. YouTube should also clarify what the policy is behind ALL of their actions.
- Demonitization also means that other advertisers are getting preferential treatment.

guest · Aug 25, 2019

'Like you've been fired from your job': YouTubers have lost thousands of dollars after their channels were mistakenly demonetized for months
August 24, 2019
https://www.businessinsider.de/yout...-get-mistakenly-demonetized-for-months-2019-8

Three YouTubers who were mistakenly demonetized told Insider that when they were demonetized, they were given no options for immediate appeal and no options to recover lost profits — which can sometimes amount to thousands of dollars.

Unlike the three-strikes copyright system used to patrol copyright violations on the platform, YouTube's monetization system issued no warnings before suspending creators for 30 days before they could re-apply, stripping them of their ability to make money on the platform for a substantial period of time.
Alex Beckham [...] said he similarly was demonetized without warning. "It just kind of happened," he said. "I got emailed saying, 'Hey, you can't live stream anymore,' And 20 minutes later another email came to explain that 'Oh yeah, we took away monetization because of reused content.'"
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YouTubers haven't been given an option to recover money lost by mistaken demonetization
Despite the slew of mishaps caused by Google and YouTube, creators haven't been given an option to recover lost funds.

YouTube wouldn't specify whether it uses an algorithm at any point in the demonetization process, but emphasized that at some point in the cycle, humans review the flagged accounts.
"It doesn't matter how big that check is, 'cause they can just take it away," Sandt said.
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guest · Mar 4, 2020

YouTube is demonetizing videos about coronavirus, and creators are mad
It’s a long-standing issue between the creator community and YouTube
March 4, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/4/2...itive-subjects-advertising-guidelines-revenue

Everyone wants to talk about the novel coronavirus outbreak right now, but you might hear YouTubers avoiding the subject — if they talk about it, they risk getting their ads shut off.

YouTube has demonetized videos about sensitive subjects in the past. The company’s advertising guidelines state that sensitive topics — usually a recent event with a “loss of life, typically as a result of a pre-planned malicious attack” — are normally not suitable for advertising. These videos are allowed to stay on the platform; they just can’t make money from YouTube’s built-in ad service.
YouTube said that the coronavirus outbreak is now being considered a sensitive topic.

“As such, all videos focused on this topic will be demonetized until further notice,”
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Jonathan Downey, who runs the popular gaming channel Spawn Wave, made a recent video about the Game Developers Conference shutting down. He tried to avoid using the word “coronavirus” in an attempt to keep his video monetized, but it didn’t work.

“I made up abbreviations to say like CV, but it still gets tagged as unsuitable,” Downey tweeted. “It was in a video about GDC being cancelled, so maybe events affected by coronavirus being talked about can trigger their bot for review as well.”
But not everyone gets demonetized. News channels often run videos about sensitive topics with ads that play because they provide the ads themselves. This is an issue that has come up time and time again;
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guest · Mar 11, 2020

YouTube will slowly start monetizing coronavirus videos following creator anger
Weeks after YouTube declared automatic demonetization
March 11, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/11/...usan-wojcicki-sensitive-subject-phil-defranco

YouTube is reassessing its policies in an effort to let some creators monetize videos they make about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
A few weeks ago, YouTube notified creators in one of its Creator Insider episodes that any video talking about the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, would face automatic demonetization.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki issued a letter today to creators addressing coronavirus coverage and what it means for people who want to cover it. Creators like Philip DeFranco, who’s a source of news for many YouTube users, has covered the ongoing outbreak, for example.

Monetization will roll out to select news partners and creators first. For creators, YouTube will start with people who accurately report how the content of their videos complies with advertiser-friendly guidelines. The company will continue to expand monetization to more creators in the coming weeks.
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YouTube: Coronavirus: An update on creator support and resources

Our sensitive events policy was designed to apply to short-term events of significant magnitude, like a natural disaster. It’s becoming clear this issue is now an ongoing and important part of everyday conversation, and we want to make sure news organizations and creators can continue producing quality videos in a sustainable way.

In the days ahead, we will enable ads for content discussing the coronavirus on a limited number of channels, including creators who accurately self-certify and a range of news partners. We’re preparing our policies and enforcement processes to expand monetization to more creators and news organizations in the coming weeks.
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guest · Jun 8, 2020

YouTube tries to become more transparent with in-depth guide to monetization
Examining everything from pranks to sensitive subjects
June 8, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/8/2...les-hateful-content-sensitive-subjects-pranks

YouTube offered more transparency into which videos can run ads and which can’t, including pranks and videos that fall under hateful content, in a breakdown of its monetization guidelines published in May.

One of the most important subjects addressed is when YouTube allows advertising on videos that contain “hateful content.” YouTube will allow ads to run on news videos about topics like homophobia, on “artistic content” like music videos that use “sensitive terminology in a non-hateful way,” and on “comedic content that includes jokes at the expense of marginalized groups in a non-hurtful manner.”
What that means, exactly, is less clear. The Verge has reached out to YouTube for more clarification. There is some precedent to try to make sense of it, though.
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The more detailed guidelines aim to help creators “understand more clearly the types of content that advertisers may not wish to appear against,” YouTube writes.

The detailed list seems like another attempt in YouTube’s quest to be more transparent.

“We’re not telling you what to create,” the page reads. “Each and every creator on YouTube is unique and contributes to the vibrancy of YouTube.”
Many of the advertising guidelines outlined are pretty obvious.
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The full chart of what’s acceptable, what isn’t, and the gray areas that YouTube moderators examine on a case-by-case basis are on Google’s Support forum.
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solitarios · Jun 8, 2020

Before people uploaded videos to YouTube for the simple fact of sharing music, now YouTube is a horrible business.

guest · Jan 15, 2023

YouTube may fix controversial policy to demonetize videos with swearing
By Jon Fingas @jonfingas - January 13, 2023

YouTube is rethinking its approach to colorful language after an uproar. In a statement to The Verge, the Google brand says it's "making some adjustments" to a profanity policy it unveiled in November after receiving blowback from creators. The rule limits or removes ads on videos where someone swears within the first 15 seconds or has "focal usage" of rude words throughout, and is guaranteed to completely demonetize a clip if swearing either occurs in the first seven seconds or dominates the content.
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While that policy wouldn't necessarily be an issue by itself, YouTube has been applying the criteria to videos uploaded before the new rule took effect. As Kotaku explains, YouTube has demonetized old videos for channels like RTGame. Producers haven't had success appealing these decisions, and the company won't let users edit these videos to pass muster.

Communication has also been a problem. YouTube doesn't usually tell violators exactly what they did wrong, and creators tend to only learn about the updated policy after the service demonetizes their work.
YouTube hasn't said just what it plans to change, so it's not clear if the revised policy will satisfy those affected.
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