A little-known set of YouTube guidelines restricting payment to content that fails to meet certain “advertiser-friendly” criteria has kicked up a stink with the platform’s users, seeing the hashtag #YouTubeIsOverParty trend globally.

 

The rules – which state that videos with “inappropriate language including harassment, swearing and vulgar language” are considered unsuitable for advertising – first came to light when YouTubers noticed that content had been demonetised.

YouTube claimed that the rules had not changed, but the way that people were reminded to stick to them had.

Videos featuring sexual humour, partial nudity, violence, drug-related content and anything relating to “war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies” also fall foul of the guidelines, and will not receive advertiser revenue.

Popular influencers Phillip DeFranco and Jamie Cottrell have both spoken out about the rulings, which DeFranco described as “a form of censorship” in a video entitled ‘YouTube is Shutting Down My Channel And I’m Not Sure What To Do’.

Louise Pentland aka Sprinkle of Glitter (pictured) has announced she is quitting her channel to make her content more adult. Others have speculated on whether sexually suggestive music videos on VEVO’s channel would be demonetised to meet the rules.

It comes as YouTube looks to bolster the premium quality of content on its platform. In August, Google opened a new YouTube Space production hub in London to drive innovation and quality in video content on the platform.