If you’re a YouTube Partner uploading someone else’s work, beware. YouTube is checking in on you and might revoke your Partner privileges. In a post on the company’s official help forum, YouTube announced that it’s doubling down on efforts to curb abuse within the YouTube Partner Program. Specifically, a YouTube spokesperson outlined in the post that it’s cracking down on a policy regarding channels posting “duplicative content.”
YouTube explains which videos defy their new standards of as includes the following content:
- Appears to be automatically generated
- Pulled from third party sources with no content or narrative added by the creator
- Uploaded many times by multiple users and you’re not the original uploader
- Uploaded in a way that is trying to get around our copyright tools
Creators may still upload videos that incorporate third party content – but even if the Partner has a license to use it, or if the content falls under fair use, the video might still break the new duplicative content rules. YouTube says, “In most cases, even if you have licenses to use the content or your videos are protected by copyright laws, such as fair use, if the main purpose of your channel is to monetize other channels’ or sources’ content, then you won’t be eligible for YPP. ”
In order to avoid stepping into duplicative content territory when using third party content, Partners must “add value” to their uploads, which could be anything from commentary to critiques to added educational value, according to YouTube. While it appears that this is a step toward increased quality control, sudden changes to YouTube’s policies have a history of irking YouTubers whose livelihoods depend on the platform for income. The good news is that creators who are kicked out of the YouTube Partner Program may delete or update their videos in accordance with the new standards and reapply after 30 days.
