YouTube just overhauled its rules for children's content, and it could have a major impact on both creators and the company's business

Mateusz Wlodarczyk / Getty

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.

• YouTube announced Monday that it is rolling out changes to revamp its policies surrounding children's content.
• The changes were announced last September, after YouTube's parent company Google paid $170 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that its content had violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
• The changes are expected to hit YouTube's revenue: features such as targeted advertising will not run on videos designated as children's content, and data from anyone watching children-designated content would not be collected.
• The policy upheaval also carries financial and legal downsides for YouTube content creators, who are now responsible for choosing whether their content is made for children.
• But the company says it is committed to helping creators navigate the new landscape and to supporting family content.
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YouTube is officially overhauling its policies surrounding children's content to better comply with FTC guidelines, a company blog post announced Monday. The changes are expected to have a significant impact on the businesses of both the video platform itself and the thousands of creators who use it.

YouTube has warned creators of the upcoming changes since last September, after YouTube's parent company Google was forced to pay $170 million to settle allegations that the platform was in violation of the Children's Online Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Now, creators are required to say whether their content is "made for kids," or not. Targeted advertising won't run on videos designated for children, and features like commenting will also be disabled on such videos. Data from anyone watching children-designated content will not be collected, the company's blog post said.

The company will also begin pushing its younger audience onto an entirely separate app, YouTube Kids, which filters the type of content users can see. The app was launched by YouTube in 2015, and removes many of the features that are available on the main site.

The changes are expected to hit YouTube's own sizable ad revenue by up to $50 million.

But the changes are also expected to have a "significant impact" on the businesses of YouTube creators, the platform has acknowledged. The new rules also transfer meaningful legal risks to YouTube creators. Notably, YouTube video creators will face individual fines for violating COPPA going forward. And although Google has provided guidelines for YouTube creators, it said that it cannot provide legal advice.

But YouTube also says that it remains committed to helping content creators "navigate this new landscape and to supporting our ecosystem of family content," and that it planned to share how to do so in the upcoming months.

"Responsibility is our number one priority at YouTube, and this includes protecting kids and their privacy," the company said. "We've been significantly investing in the policies, products and practices to help us do this. Today's changes allow us to do this even better."

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