YouTube on October 25 announced that monetisation of content targeting kids will depend on the quality of the content. "If a channel is found to have a strong focus on low-quality 'Made for Kids' content, it may be suspended from the YouTube Partner Programme. If an individual video is found to violate these quality principles, it may see limited or no ads," the company said. These new guidelines are set to take effect in November. "Made for Kids" content is not only content on the YouTube Kids app, but also content on the main app that is targeted towards children. While YouTube has long maintained standards on what constitutes high- and low-quality kids' content and used this to determine recommendations and eligibility for YouTube Kids, this is the first time the platform will determine monetisation based on these standards. What is "low-quality" content? According to YouTube, low-quality content includes content that is: Heavily commercial or promotional: Content that is primarily focused on purchasing products or promoting brands and logos (e.g., toys and food). It also includes content that is focused on excessive consumerism. Encouraging negative behaviors or attitudes: Content that encourages dangerous activities, wastefulness, bullying, dishonesty, or a lack of respect for others (e.g., dangerous/unsafe pranks, unhealthy eating habits). Deceptively educational: Content that claims to have educational value in its title or thumbnail, but actually lacks guidance or explanation, or is not relevant to children (e.g. titles or thumbnails that promise to help viewers “learn colors” or “learn numbers,” but instead features…
