Online streaming service, YouTube seems to have instilled fear in content creators with its newly updated Terms of Service scheduled to take effect from December 10, 2019.
Although the new terms do not change the way YouTube treats or uses content uploaded by users, it has clarified some policies that were making users get worried that their accounts could be deleted.
According to the section titled ‘Account Suspension & Termination’ with the subheading ‘Terminations by YouTube for Service Changes’, “YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the Service if YouTube reasonably believes that its provision of the Service to you is no longer commercially viable.”
What this means: This means accounts of YouTubers, who aren’t making enough money nor generating enough views, may be deleted. This is one of the updates that are not in YouTube’s current policy.
[READ MORE: YouTube fined $170 Million over violation of kids federal privacy law]
The new policy gives YouTube the power to delete a creator’s account if they upload or livestream video that doesn’t pull in enough advertising revenue. It is pertinent to note that apart from content creators, YouTube could also remove accounts of viewers as the terms do not explicitly state content creators alone.
Reactions: Since the pop-up window of notification for the new policy started showing when users log on to the app, YouTube has been criticized as YouTubers have been lamenting on Twitter.
Nevertheless, some think the policy applies to users who make videos without following the rules and regulations of YouTube and so hurt the brand, instead of users who do not make enough money for the company.
https://twitter.com/napkin_yaboi/status/1193513177415389186
YouTube is deleting channels that don’t make enough money (or any money at all) as of December 10. This takes away our freedom of expression, and I will not stand for it! https://t.co/nVXU4gLp1o
— Arden Lyn🍉 (@weirdmix19) November 10, 2019
GUYS STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE NEW YOUTUBE TERMS OF SERVICE!
I wanna let yall know that in reality, they have the right to take your account down if they no longer make money, so we're ok.
— Cyfrin (Snek boii) (@SlitherSong_) November 10, 2019
@YTCreators @YouTube @SusanWojcicki
Your new terms of service have actually revealed your true colors. There's thousands of content creators who do this for fun, and you might actually terminate them cause they don't give you enough money?!?!
Disgraceful
Selfish
Pitiful— ADG 🇵🇷 (@captain_adg) November 10, 2019
@TeamYouTube Dear YouTube,
I'm pretty offended after reading your new Terms of Service.
Basically what this means is that you are terminating small accounts for no reason!😠
This is not acceptable and I don't like the direction you are going at all.
-Angry YouTuber
— Dame Sophie Godmother of Bunnies❤️BM🍉 (@boopstawista) November 10, 2019
If provision of the service is no longer commercially profitable for YOUTUBE, it’s not that if you don’t make money, is if YouTube Loses money by allowing your channel to exist. It means don’t make hate videos that hurts YouTube as a brand.
— CartoonFan12 (@CartoonFan12) November 9, 2019
The company was said to have sent a mail to inform content creators first before throwing it out to the general public. This move by YouTube could either make or mar the company as it now seems it is focusing more on its biggest, most profitable creators while giving smaller creators fewer chances of monetizing their work.
