It's a $#!@&£% win-win as YouTube swears in new rules

YouTube’s decision to allow creators to monetise videos with swearing in them, provided the profanity is limited to the first seven seconds of the video, has been hailed as positive step “for risk tolerance and brand safety”.

In November 2022, the video sharing giant changed its rules so that creators who used profanities in the first 8-15 seconds would potentially be ineligible for any ad revenue.

In March 2023, YouTube changed its rules again so that such videos would be eligible for limited ad revenue, unless they used foul language throughout video.

The company maintained that the move was to align YouTube videos with broadcast standards. However, it is now relaxing the rules once more.

YouTube head of monetisation Conor Kavanagh explained: “Advertisers expected ads on YouTube to have a distance between profanity and the ad that just served. Those expectations have changed, and advertisers already have the ability to target content to their desired level of profanity.”

Even so, Kavanagh warned that if creators use moderate or strong swear words in the title or thumbnail, their videos might still have limited monetisation.

In response, Channel Factory managing director Rob Blake said: “This is a positive step for risk tolerance and brand safety. By moving away from blanket demonetisation rules and introducing more flexible content eligibility standards, the platform is allowing brands to define what their ‘comfort zone’ is when it comes to language and context.”

Blake added: “The policy pivot gives advertisers the freedom of choice and the opportunity to sharpen their suitability standards and be proactive in defining what aligns with their brand and values.

“The advanced controls appear to be a win-win for both creators and advertisers, keeping campaigns both effective and safe remains paramount.”