Hey guys, I know this is off topic, but I thought I would share with you all this video on the FTC Coppa Update. It is hard to really explain the new changes in full detail, but here is a video posted by one of the staffers on youtube explaining what coppa is and what to expect
Unless if you have been living under a rock or for whatever reason haven't been watching videos on Youtube, there have been 2 updates to the platforms you all might want to be aware of. The first one is the TOS update, and one key point they posted is “YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the service if YouTube believes, in its sole discretion, that provision of the service to you is no longer commercially viable.” (quoted from The Verge at https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/11/20955864/youtube-terms-of-service-update-terminations-children-content-ftc). Another update to note is the whole COPPA stuff. Basically there is a relatively new law by the FTC that is aimed at shielding the privacy of anyone under 13 (you can read more about the law at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/youtube-channel-owners-your-content-directed-children). It basically states that you aren't supposed to collect data on kids under 13, at least not without parental consent. On the surface, it can seem like a good and fair law, but the wording is a bit vague, and plus people do have the cloak of anonymity when browing the net and you might not know if kids are visiting your sites (or videos) or not. Anyways, Youtube got hit with a huge lawsuit over COPPA violations and ended up paying out millions to the government. Now, it appears that the FTC is threating to go after channel owners (like you and me) who don't comply with the coppa guidelines. The irony here is that technically nobody under 13 is supposed to sign up for youtube and that there is a version of youtube for kids (youtube kids) that are directed for more for children. However, even on the main platform, now channel owners are supposed to go through all of their videos and mark whether or not their videos are "made for kids".
Effects of marking videos as for kids:
- Videos become unseachable
- Personalized ads get turned off (which means less ad revenue from adsense). Personally that won't realy affect me as my adsense account got disabled years ago, but it might affect others that earn a living on making videos for Youtube.
- other affects: turns off comments, recommended videos, "watch later" options, notification bells, etc.
So basically, your videos will become buried, harder to find and people can't comment on it. I am starting to wonder it the "...commercially viable" tos refers to those videos and channels that get marked for kids? I don't know, but we will find out soon enough after Jan 1 2020.
However, you also have the option of marking videos as "not for kids" and they will still be searchable, have personalized ads, etc. However, if youtube thinks a video is supposed to be marked for kids, it will do so automatically. Channel owners who blatantly mislabel their videos also risk having their videos removed or even have their accounts terminated. What is more, after 2020 comes out, I understand that the FTC will start enforcing COPPA on youtube and sweeping through videos and channels for violations. According to them, videos that are mislabled (marked as "not for kids" when they should have been) risk huge fines (up to $42,000+ per violation). Yeah, definitely seems harsh and can add up pretty quickly depending on how many videos the FTC finds that are mislabeled. Where it get scary though is that 1) not everyone is going to have that kind of money to cough up (I know that I don't have that kind of money) and 2) what the FTC considers "directed" for kids is a bit broad. Sure, some videos are going to be more obvious than others on what kinds of audiences their videos cater to, and vise versa is also true. But then, there are also the gray area videos (like mine where they are catered more to an older audience, but some kids might still watch anyways) where the correct label is not going to be obvious (should it be marked "for kids" or "not for kids"? Who knows) where it is not clear what you should label them as. Hopefully the FTC and Youtube will listen to reason and be fair in how they evaluate videos, but we will see. I know I wouldn't want to be one of the people getting fined $42000+ dollars. I have gone through and labled some of my videos at for kids (especially ones with pets, zoos, and the like), but for trail cam footage, I will leave as not for kids for now. Will probably also shop around for alternatives to youtube too in case if worst case scenario. I will also create an archive page where you can watch all of my videos I posted on youtube (even ones marked as "for kids" to make them easier to find). It is worth noting America does have a history of overcriminalization (vague and poorly written laws that some people inadvertantly break and get harshly punished for), and the whole COPPA stuff will most likely create a legal minefield for video creators, channel owners, and others will have to navigate as long as it is in effect. And you might not always see eye to eye on what the FTC considers as "for kids" and what is "not for kids" and the stakes are even higher given the steep fines people may face for getting their videos wrong. Hopefully things won't be as bad as people make it out to be, but if it does, many people will be impacted, unsuspecting channel owners might find themselves getting fined, and at worse case scenario, the laws could end up killing the youtube platform as a whole (people may jump ship and find other platforms, especially if they don't want to risk getting fined as well as those who end up losing money from less ad revenue). Another issues is the annonymous nature of people visiting your channels or watching the videos. Analytics does offer insights on who is watching your videos, but it doesn't tell you if anyone under 13 is watching your videos (youngest age range is 13-17). Also, thanks to Youtube on TV, people can watch videos on "signed out mode" where anonymous people can watch your videos and you have no idea who they are. It is also worth noting that it is said that some kids will lie about their age to get on Youtube (how you know if they are lying or not, I have no idea). So kids could theoretically be watching your content (unless if they have the age restricted filter on, which requires people to sign in to verify their age) and you wouldn't know it.
Here is what it could look like in an example (using fictional names):
Let's say Johnny is a channel owner on youtube, and wasn't paying attention to what is going on (maybe he was too busy or ignorant). He uploads videos and gets prompted to label videos as "for kids" or "not for kids". He doesn't know what it means and proceeds to label all of his videos as "not for kids" (not knowing what should be labeled as for kids) and goes out his business. Then let's say Sue, Penny and, Kim, who is a a 12 year old girls (fictional) starts watching his videos (for example, maybe he has videos showing off his legos, video games like Super Mario Maker 2, his dogs / cats, his trip to the zoo, etc) and leaves comments on the videos, then as the FTC is concerned, Johnny might be in violation for coppa since he is not supposed to collect information (even comments) from the girls (or other kids under 13 for that matter) without parental concent. Come January, some FTC agents find Johnny's videos, decide they are "for kids" and sometime later, Johnny gets a $42000 fine in the mail (either that or gets served a summons to appear for a judge in Washington DC or wherever the lawsuit trials take place, who fines him $42,000 or more for violating Coppa). If Johnny was paying attention to what was going on, he might have labeled his videos correctly and taken steps to reducing the risks of getting fined. Or maybe he does label his videos, and but then the FTC finds some videos where they disagree with him on what is considered "for kids", then he still might get fined $42,000. It is worse than taking a test. Wrong answers on a test may mean a lower grade score on the test). However, COPPA would be the ultimate test because wrong answers on "what is for kids" could mean huge fines that he has to pay. Also, what if he can't afford the fines? Would he go to jail? Do community service? I have no idea, but you get the picture.
By the way, the FTC law is not currently set in stone and there is a comment period going on until early December where you can chime in and make your comments heard. See https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/youtube-channel-owners-your-content-directed-children for more info about the law and near the bottom is an area where you can comment on the law (at least till December 9).
By the way, there are some petitions going around right now aimed at changing or even stopping coppa and if you do post videos to youtube and want more say in the matter, you might want to consider signing them. You can find the petitions at:
https://www.change.org/p/youtubers-and-viewers-unite-against-ftc-regulation
and
https://www.change.org/p/google-inc-stop-coppa-from-affecting-youtube
I am hoping that things will work out in the end and a solution is found that works for everyone (even a neutral option might do, where you can say your video is for a mixed audience), but we will see how it all plays out come January. In the mean time, I will be positing animal related videos on my channel on an archives page I am building, will take a hiatus on posting new videos to youtube (will be using Facebook videos and Twitch instead for now) and may shop around for new video platforms. What are your thoughts about coppa? Are you prepared for when the new law comes out in January? If you don't want coppa to take effect then, be sure to comment on the ftc page before Jan 9 and don't forget to sign the petitions. If we all work together, we might be able to keep a bad law from going into effect that is likely ensnare unsuspecting youtube channel owners, cause other channel owners to quit, and may even end up killing Youtube as a whole. That is all for now. Scary times on youtube and it is also worth noting that the FTC could go after other platforms too if they have their way on things (can't you imagine having to check and see if your content say on Facebook is Coppa compliant or not?). I like youtube and it has been a pretty good platform to watch videos, but if the FTC has their way, we could very well be seeing the beginning of the end for Youtube as a whole. Basically the end of the "wild west days" of the internet too as now the feds will have more power over the net and could very well use technology against unsuspecting citizens who violate laws even unknowingly., Kinda reminds me of the old saying that the "Average American commits 3 felonies a day unknowingly.." (see https://www.econlib.org/three-felonies-a-day/ )jargon (overcriminalization). It is also worth noting that America has the highest incarceration rate of any nation too, which doesn't look good for a democracy like America (makes it look more like an authoritarian state than a democracy if that is the case as it makes you wonder why they are locking everyone up in the first place). Will post updates if I hear anything on coppa. And I am like you all, hopefully the coppa stuff blows over or is at least updated to be more fair to channel owners and the rules are easier to follow, but we won't know for sure till late December.
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