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It's Wednesday and YouTube has some f***ing good news for creators: you can now use profanity in the first seven seconds of a video without worrying about de-monetization. |
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Today's News |
🛑 Australia bans kids from YouTube 💬 YouTube dominates chatbot referrals 🎤 TikTok takes on American Idol 🔍 YouTube levels up age verification 🧨 MrBeast really wants you to subscribe
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TALKING POLITICS |
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Australia will ban kids under 16 from YouTube after all |
The about-face: After previously exempting YouTube from an upcoming national ban on teen social media accounts, Australian officials have now indicated that the Google-affiliated hub will be subject to the applicable restrictions. |
When the law takes effect in December, the Australian government will have the power to fine platforms that fail to prevent under-16 users from opening accounts. Those rules will apply to major social media feeds, including TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and—thanks to this latest update—YouTube. |
The Alphabet-owned platform had initially been exempt from the law, with a spokesperson for then-Communications Minister Michelle Rowland arguing that the move "matched broad sentiment in the Australian community that YouTube is not a core social media application." |
YouTube's rivals, however, argued that the exemption was a "sweetheart deal." In response, the Australian government resolved to reconsider the law's scope, a move that led to a reversal of course. (At least, for the most part—as of now, YouTube Kids will remain exempt.) Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and current Communications Minister Anika Wells are still expected to confirm the update. |
The context: Now that a decision has been made, Australian officials will need to figure out how to actually enforce its teen social media ban. Fines will target platforms that fail to take "reasonable steps" to prevent under-16 signups, but it's unclear what those steps will be. The ban also won't stop kids and teens from using social media while logged out. |
However the ban is enforced, YouTube can expect to face the same consequences as its rivals—and that change is just the latest in a series of regulatory setbacks facing the video hub. In the U.S., mounting regulatory pressure could lead to the breakup of Google's ad and search businesses, and the tech giant has also faced contentious legal battles over the union status of contractors. |
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
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LIVE FROM TIKTOK |
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TikTok is putting its own spin on American Idol |
The context: TikTok is capitalizing on its reputation as an incubator of up-and-coming musical talent. The social app is joining forces with iHeartRadio to launch Next Up: LIVE Music, a musical contest that will use metrics such as likes, views, comments, and shares to determine which artists advance to a live-streamed finale. |
The competition will progress across multiple rounds, with feedback from both viewers and judges influencing eliminations. 50 artists will advance to the semifinals, and the final round will whittle that number down to 12. Any artist who wishes to audition for Next Up must be over 18 with at least 50,000 TikTok followers and one original song to their name. The audition period for the contest will run from July 28 and August 11. |
Winners will receive training and support designed to help them succeed on TikTok—but the real prize is the opportunity to participate in the September 28 finale. That concert will be held at the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank and streamed globally on TikTok LIVE. |
The show: This latest initiative presents a strategic pivot as TikTok looks to consolidate its cultural influence. After previously teaming up with some of the biggest names in the recording industry, the ByteDance-owned app is now shining its spotlight on independent talent through new songwriter-focused features and the launch of productions like Next Up. |
The competition also offers some added utility for its organizers. TikTok LIVE has become a major moneymaker (unlike the company's planned TikTok Music app), and Next Up joins existing LIVE promotional efforts like the annual LIVE Fest. |
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SURVEY SAYS |
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Sorry, kids: No more lying about your age on YouTube |
The problem: Lying about your age on the internet is easy. Verification on many sites is limited to ticking a box—a lax system that makes it challenging for platforms like YouTube to distinguish between minors and adults. |
That's a serious problem in the U.S., where the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits digital platforms from collecting, using, and/or disclosing personal information collected from kids under 13. The Federal Trade Commission already fined YouTube $170 million for COPPA violations back in 2019, leading the platform to enact changes like disabling ads and comments on videos aimed at kids. |
Now, in the wake of Australia's decision to include YouTube in its teen social media ban, the platform seems to doubling down to avoid any future regulation. |
The system: The video hub is introducing a machine learning system designed to distinguish between minors and adults by "interpret[ing] a variety of signals" from a user's account (such as the age of the account and the types of videos searched for and/or watched). |
If the system thinks an account is run by a kid/teen, YouTube says it will respond by automatically disabling ads, turning on a suite of digital wellbeing tools, and "adding safeguards to recommendations." |
The precautions: Following the FTC's $170 million ruling, YouTube's updated policies inadvertently impacted channels that weren't making content for children—but the platform says it has a plan for handling potential mistakes from this new system: |
"If the system incorrectly estimates a user to be under 18, they will have the option to verify that they are 18 or over, such as using a credit card or a government ID." | | | | - YouTube |
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YouTube intends to roll out its updated process—which will apply only to signed-in accounts across desktop, mobile, and connected TV—to a small set of users in the U.S, where it will be "closely monitored" before further expansion. |
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WATCH THIS |
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MrBeast isn't taking a breather at 400 million subs |
The creator: MrBeast just posted yesterday about receiving a hand-delivered 400 million-subscriber play button from YouTube—but the Feastables creator isn't slowing down anytime soon. In fact, MrBeast's latest effort to attract subscribers might be his least subtle of all time. |
The appeal: A Short posted yesterday shows MrBeast hovering next to a giant arrow that points directly to the "subscribe" button beneath the video. That arrow also happens to be situated just above a super real crate of explosives that definitely wasn't added in post. The video's title: "Subscribe To Explode The TNT." |
If that approach seems too obvious to garner much traction…well, you might need to spend some more time scrolling through Shorts. Since being uploaded on July 29, the video has already attracted 23 million views and thousands of comments. |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
