YouTube has announced a significant change to its Community Guidelines, aimed at creators who break its rules. In a bid to provide them with more resources and prevent channel termination, YouTube now offers a training course option for creators who receive a warning. Upon completion of the course, the warning will be lifted from the channel, as long as the same policy is not violated again within 90 days.
Learning from Mistakes
This new policy allows creators to understand why their content crossed the line, helping them avoid future penalties. By taking the educational course, creators can effectively wipe out their initial warning before it progresses to a strike. Currently, channels that accumulate three strikes within a 90-day period face termination.
According to YouTube, since the introduction of one-time warnings for first policy violations in 2019, over 80% of creators who received a warning have never violated the guidelines again. This demonstrates the effectiveness of providing educational resources in reducing policy violations.
Key Takeaway
YouTube now offers creators the opportunity to complete an educational training course when they receive a warning for violating its policies. By taking this course and not violating the same policy for 90 days, creators can have the warning lifted from their channel, preventing it from turning into a strike.
Enhancing Understanding and Protecting Businesses
The decision to implement this new policy was driven by feedback from creators who expressed a need for better clarity on the rules. YouTube recognizes that receiving a strike can disrupt a creator’s posting schedule and, in the case of those building businesses through the YouTube Partner Program, it can have a negative financial impact. By providing a pathway to education, YouTube aims to safeguard creators’ incomes and retain monetizing videos on its platform.
Individual Warnings and Reduced Channel Termination
Another significant change to the policy is the introduction of individual warnings for specific policy violations, rather than one warning for the lifetime of a channel. This provides creators who often skirt the rules with more opportunities to remove their warnings before they escalate to strikes, reducing the likelihood of channel termination.
It is important to note that although the three-strike rule remains in place, the new policy is expected to result in fewer creators reaching that point. YouTube emphasizes that its policies regarding terminating channels for repeated guideline violations or posting severe content still stand. Additionally, repeat offenders may be prohibited from taking future training courses, although specifics on how this will be determined remain undisclosed at this time.
With this proactive approach to educating creators and giving them a chance to rectify their mistakes, YouTube is working towards creating a safer and more informed community of content creators on its platform.
