5 Indispensable YouTube Content Policies: What Not to Post on YouTube

Breadnbeyond
5 min readNov 19, 2019

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It’s fairly known that YouTube has become the most popular video-sharing platform.

However, there are some YouTube content policies you have to obey so that all the contents are friendly to everyone.

Now, we are going to talk about those policies.

YouTube Content Policies: How Does It Work?

YouTube has some community guidelines for every user to follow. One of them is the content policies that are especially made for the video authors — also viewers.

In August 2018, YouTube removed more than 93% of videos that contains illegal content.

YouTube allows viewers to flag or report any illegal content. Next, the YouTube staff will review them.

If the video contains a harmful message, YouTube will take it down in less than 24 hours.

YouTube can also ban its users if they keep producing videos that are against the guidelines. You can check out the YouTube community guideline below:

What Contents Are Not to Post on YouTube?

YouTube content policies are made to avoid any inappropriate messages in content that are somehow harmful to viewers.

As a result, YouTube can enforce its purpose; entertaining and informative.

So, what are those “illegal” contents? Let’s find out below!

#1. Featuring Graphical Violence

YouTube doesn’t allow any violent content or content that can encourage viewers to commit violent acts.

They’re not age-friendly since they can disrupt the emotion of a specific segment of YouTube viewers, especially kids under 13 years old.

Contents that are deemed as violent include fighting with real weapons, footage of accidents, natural disasters, or the aftermath of war.

It also includes footage that disgusts viewers like blood and vomit, torture, corpses, animal abuse, etc.

To put it simply, any content that disgusts or shocks the viewers is a violation of the policy.

If there’s a slight clip of the footage mentioned above in your videos, you must blur or censor it.

For the best option, don’t include that clip.

#2. Sexual, Pornographic and Other Explicit Contents

YouTube also doesn’t allow nudity or pornographic content posted on the site. Otherwise, it’ll get removed or age-restricted depending on the severity of the content. However, videos that are mainly purposed for education and aren’t gratuitously explicit may be allowed after YouTube gives permission.

Uploading, streaming, or even commenting on sexually explicit content will result in the content being taken down. Any reports will be processed immediately — less than 24 hours. The account may as well be terminated too.

#3. Featuring Personal Information

YouTube users are also responsible for the privacy of other users so that everyone feels safe.

Any content that violates the personal information of a group or person without their permission will be taken down. To avoid this violation, you can blur any personal pieces of information on your videos.

The personal information includes image, voice, full name, contact information, and any other identifiable personal information.

In this case, the users who complain about the violation of their personal information on a video can contact the video owner.

If there’s no response, they’re eligible to report the content to YouTube. Here’s how you report the video that contains your personal information:

#4. Copyright Laws Violation

YouTube also enforces the copyright strike to manage copyright infringement and comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

If you use any copyrighted materials — such as music or music video, the copyright owner has the privilege to contact YouTube to block your video.

You can avoid the copyright strike by removing, changing, or muting any copyrighted music.

You can also ask for permission from the music owner to use their music on your video.

If your video is not for commercial purposes, the owner most likely allows you to use it.

#5. Including Hate Speech or Cyberbullying

Next, YouTube doesn’t tolerate any hateful content. It also includes the promotion of violence or hatred against a specific group or person. Any harmful videos or comments will be blocked or removed.

Hate speech or bullying is based on any religion, nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, or caste. It also includes disability, sexual orientation, and age.

According to the report, as of September 2019, YouTube has removed at least 100,000 videos that contain hatred or cyberbullying.

In conclusion, some policies are made by YouTube to filter videos that are friendly and safe for everyone.

Keep your video content friendly by learning the YouTube content policies explained above. Or you can learn how to create valuable content here.

How to Post Messages to YouTube Subscribers

What’s Legal and What’s Illegal to Use in YouTube Videos

How to Embed YouTube’s Subscribe Button on Your Website

Keep in mind that these policies are not just for content creators; it also enforces viewers when they are leaving comments on these videos.

To sum it up, we‘ve created an easily-shared video about YouTube content policies:

Feel free to share it!

Download FREE e-Books:

A Comprehensive Guide to Making Money on YouTube

Generating Leads from YouTube Channels

Anyway, what do you think about YouTube’s content policies? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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