YouTube responds to creator backlash by adjusting its new swearing policy

Dirty-mouthed creators rejoice, YouTube is adjusting its swearing policy after backlash, The Verge reports.

In November, YouTube announced a change in its guidelines for what videos can be monetized. Included in the changes was an adjustment to their inappropriate language guidelines: videos with profanity in the first 8 seconds are demonetized and those with profanity after the first 8 seconds may receive ad revenue.

SEE ALSO: Meme page creators want Instagram to be more transparent

The new policy appears to apply to every video a creator has ever made on the platform resulting in the demonetization of countless past videos and a cut in the creator's ad revenue. YouTubers, like ProZD, took issue with the policy and the lack of clear communication from YouTube and spoke out on their channels.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

After weeks of complaints from creators, YouTube is going to make adjustments to the policy.

"In recent weeks we’ve heard from many creators regarding this update. That feedback is important to us and we are in the process of making some adjustments to this policy to address their concerns. We will follow up shortly with our creator community as soon as we have more to share," YouTube spokesperson Michael Aciman told The Verge.

---

Related Stories

---

• CES 2023: Creators can record pro video from their camera directly to their iPhone or iPad with this new device
• TikTok creators will soon be able to make content available to adults only
• Twitter may soon launch Coins, allowing you to reward creators
• Elon Musk doesn't understand creators. Twitter's third-party link ban proves it.

The swearing policy also treats all "varieties of profanity equally meaning they are not differentiated based on level of severity," with the exception of "hell" and "damn."

This policy change is another example of how creators' livelihoods are often subject to the whims of big tech companies.