YouTube is updating its monetisation rules to increase its scrutiny of mass-produced content. The YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), which governs the platform’s monetisation policy, has always encouraged creators to publish original and authentic content. Now, with this update, the video streaming giant is improving its identification of mass-produced and repetitive videos to evaluate them and likely reduce the monetary compensation. The new policy will come into effect starting July 15. YouTube did not mention the punishments, if any, that offenders would receive.
YouTube Tightening the Monetisation Rope for Repetitive Videos
On a support page, the Google-owned video streaming platform announced the decision to revise its monetisation policy to identify and evaluate “mass-produced and repetitious content.” The company highlighted that it has “always required creators to upload ‘original’ and ‘authentic’ content.”
YouTube’s requirement to publish original content is not a new demand. In fact, the company has always included the requirement at the top of its monetisation policy, which says, “If you’re making money on YouTube, your content should be original and authentic.”
There are two rules to this requirement, which also define what the company means by mass-produced and repetitious content. The first rule mentions that creators should not borrow content from someone else, and if they do, they should change it significantly to claim it as their own.
The second rule focuses on repetitive content and states that the content should be made for either entertainment purposes or for the education of the viewers, and not solely for getting views. This also includes all the clickbait videos, low-effort content, and templatised videos.
YouTube said that the updated policy will better reflect what inauthentic content looks like today. This could include new trends and tricks used by creators to farm views. While the post did not mention it, the revised guidelines could also include AI-assisted videos, where creators use AI-generated voices to react to someone else’s videos.
Notably, as per the company, content creators need to meet minimum eligibility criteria before they can earn money from published videos. This includes 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.