What worries me the most is that since this is a government thing, it might spread across all the internet, including Twitch, Dailymotion, etc. and affect comics app, even of they are tagged mature/ pg13, because, ya know, if it has colorful drawings, it must be for kids
Dailymotion has their head office in Paris, it'll be difficult to get them to comply. They will probably still try.
Youtubers can't gather data and the ftc know this, it's becoming clearer that they are interested in making money and if this doesn't work they'll just find another excuse. Even workers inside the ftc who pointed out that they can't legally do this have been silenced on social media. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually try using sneezing while watching yt as an excuse to be fined.
Yes! This will be awesome for companies like Disney, tho, who can pay the fines without major worries. As you said, they just want the money.
When I saw the news about the changes and how ridiculously harsh they are, my first thought was, "I'd be amazed if Disney + and Netflix, or traditional TV channels didn't make a big push for this behind the scenes."
Because of course, subscription services like theirs want... well, subs! And their main competitor is Youtube, which in a huge number of non English speaking countries is the number 1 video platform by a wide margin, and in English speaking ones is just behind Netflix. How do you defeat Youtube? Make it impossible for creators, or even the platform to profit from children's content there, since Youtube relies on ads, so creators stop making content for that platform, so parents sub to Netflix or go back to oldskool TV.
What I predict will happen is Youtube will start pushing their subscription service more, and commissioning content for their children's platform or striking deals with channels like Cartoon Network etc. Basically adult Youtube will stay more or less the same, but with something more like Netflix attached to it for kids.
Most people love big brands like Disney. YT isn't taking away from that, the difference is price. People who aren't watching tv, do so for 3 main reasons. 1 price, can't afford it, especially multiple channel packages or streaming services. yt is free and has a premium but not needed to watch. I've never had a nexflix account because they don't allow me to see what's available in my country and I know we have a lot of licencing issues. I usually don't get to watch a movie until it shows on tv because we have a small renting window and after you can only buy so if you missed the time between purchase - rent - purchase again you're stuck waiting for it to either be rent-able again or price drops by which time they show it on tv in 2 languages. 2 schedule issues, people want to watch when they want not when they're told to. we have limited replay times if that works at all. I know it's different in other countries. 3. content availability, a lot of the time my fav shows aren't available, sometimes due to licencing issues and when they do pick up again they're seasons apart and not advertised so you didn't know it was airing again. American Shows get cancelled because rating drops in usa despite gaining popularity in the rest of the world. posting on yt means no broadcast fees, which means more money for productions. It's not that I don't think they're meddling, they probably are it's that I don't see it as a good move. Pushing out other creators won't drive more people to watch tv or tv yt channels. It'll just make less people watch because they're not fixing the main problems. More people may be able to watch their favs shows if it's not blocked in their area. But the reason people like yt will just send them looking for it on other platforms thus leading to yt dying out.
Even if this is a government thing this isn't time to start spreading fear and panic. This kind of thing happened in the late 90's early 2000's with Napster and Limewire. At first the big labels went after the people downloading off P2P platforms but when they started suing children and grandparents that didn't even understand what those platforms truly were judges began to refuse to follow through and dismissed cases. The public outcry was also so loud it forced the lawsuits to be laid on the platforms instead.
It is important right now to do what you must to protect yourself on youtube because the FTC was happy enough going after the platform however....the FTC now coming after the content creators as well is Google's fault! This is part of the settlement between YT/Google and the FTC that they can go after the content creators.
If anyone is truly worried then now is the time to go on the FTC website and voice your opinion civilly on the new COPPA revisions. In honesty I think like others that the revisions are too aggressive. And also remember that these revisions happen every ten years so keep up on the laws as well. There is also a petition:
COPPA Comments submissions are extended until Dec 9 so keep that in mind:
https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=FTC-2019-0054-00011
Change.org petition:
J House Law this is a youtuber with family content that also has a law degree and background. When this began he went to Youtube and the FTC to get a better understanding of what is going on and is now lobbying for the rights of content creators.
This kinda makes me feel better, but at the same time...as you described in that situation, someone has to be the sacrificial lamb. And a lot of competent people are going to get targeted by this unjust law before we get to the people who 'didn't know any better'. A lot of things are going to get shut down and destroyed while we wait; things that can't just be gotten back as soon as it's 'safe to come out'. And the longer it takes, the more irreversible the damage will be.
All that is to say, if a little pre-emptive fear and panic and overreaction could contribute even a little to making this not happen in the first place, I'm all for it.
Panicking and over reacting never helps in the long run. In fact this whole thing began with the FTC over reacting to the internet as a whole. They don't understand it and how things work and how fast things change on this landscape. Thing is just be calm and direct your concerns to the FTC because they are reading all comments.
When the revisions that helped create this situation happened in 2013 they received only 99 comments in total so they were like okay...no one is passionately opposed to these regulations so we must be doing the right thing! They have so far received over 104,000 comments on the revisions. If you want to help stop these regulations from coming into full effect because right now they are pending while the FTC reviews comments and makes a final decision then comment against them.
I mean...that's basically what I meant by overreacting. I didn't mean to start rioting in the streets and throwing bricks at the Google office or anything...
Why did they receive only 99 comments initially? Probably because people figured (when the internet was much smaller, by the way) that it didn't matter and didn't care. Passion, even to the extent of fear at times, is what incites change.
Maybe we should all remain calm and go through channels. Maybe this isn't something that everyone and their mom should be making hysterical 'Youtube is about to die' videos about...but I doubt the number of comments would have passed the 6-digit threshold without that level of concern.
Well it is a concerning situation and making videos and talking about the situation and making people aware that there are avenues to stop these regulations is healthy. It will help if people talk about it and the solution but I don't think this is going to be the death of Youtube. They will always find a way to weasel out of the situation. I don't think this will be the end of the internet as a whole either. I think and want to believe that there is enough people out there that will voice their opinions at the FTC and stop these overreaching regulations. As far as other platforms it is not time to start panicking. Like I mentioned earlier the FTC going after creators is part of Google's settlement with the FTC.
I think it’s gonna be less the “the death of YouTube” and more the death of certain creators. mostly as usual small channels. Video game channels will prob suffer but I think the people who are gonna suffer the most are animators whom have already been suffocating from the YouTube algorithm for years.
Just a shout out from an animator I like.
The major problem is you want to make money if you go to YouTube- you can’t make money with ads unless your content is ad friendly, however if your TOO friendly you are considered child content and get a fine. Lots of adults seem to have this strange understanding that if it’s animated it’s for kids, so I’m pretty sure the biggest thing that will come of this is that the already dying animation community on YouTube might have to crawl back to the one place that they seem to be welcomed on the internet, newgrounds.
What I'm scared about is that people don't understand that this is not a youtube issue, and treat it as "well, it's youtubers problem". You are going to be fined just as easily on the Newgrounds! It doesn't matter on what site do you reside! It's not the company that owns the site that will be inspecting you, it will be a government agency! You might not get your income annihilated by the draconian rules that all but shadowban your content, but there still might be a 42k fine with your name written on it!
It is a youtube problem...right now. The reason this is happening is because Google has been ignoring COPPA rules for years and it has only recently caught up with them. The fact that creators are being held responsible now is not something the FTC had originally intended but it was made a part of the settlement with Google. Again if you are concerned then join up with everyone else and comment to the FTC and petition the new revisions before Dec 9th when the comment portion of the inquire ends and a final decision is made.
I'm not an US citizen, sadly. So as with all damaging global initiatives, like SOPA, article 13, etc, I can do nothing but sit and helplessly watch how the things will turn out. On the plus side I don't think that FTC can fine me? I mean, what can they do if I just ignore them?
Unfortunately...it still effects you if you post on Youtube. YT is American based so the FTC can come after you since you have published videos with an American company.
Bless Jim "The Kids Don't Even Like me!" Sterling Son.... I was actually just thinking about that video recently as well, funnily enough.
Yes, but what can they do? It seems that at worst I'll lose my account if push comes to shove. Bad, but better than being forced to pay an amount of money on which I could live without a job for five years.
I'm not giving you any legal advice here but I am going to say make sure you cover your own ass because things can get much worse than just losing an account. Because you have videos on Youtube it doesn't even matter if they are monetized or not they will be looked into if the FTC decides to go this route. And if they decide any of it is child directed or appeals to children you will be fined since you are posting content with the an American based platform you are subject to American laws. It is a lot like say someone in Korea writes a medical advice book that is full of exaggerated and false claims and tries to publish it through an American publisher they will be held accountable to follow American laws since they are doing business with an American company. I can only tell you go through your videos now and label everything that you can to avoid trouble later.
IM not in panic... and I already signed the petition. But I still remember how FCC ignored everyone about net neutrality xD
