This is the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). To comply with the law, YouTube is required to limit the data collected in content created for children, and has therefore implemented a new system for classifying content.
Therefore, since its implementation in January 2020, all creators (regardless of their country) must indicate whether their videos (new or already published on the channel) include content created for children. Thus, now on YouTube all videos are divided into two categories:
-Made for kids
-Not made for kids
What is Considered Content “Created for Children”?
In order to decide if your channel or video should be classified as “created for children”, you must take into account several factors, such as the following:
-The theme of the video (e.g., educational content for preschool children).
-Whether children are the intended or actual audience of the video.
-Whether the video includes actors or models who are children.
-Whether the video includes characters, celebrities, or toys that may be of interest to children, including animated characters or cartoon dolls.
-Whether the language of the video is intended for children to understand the content.
-Whether the video includes activities that are attractive to children, such as theatrical performances, simple songs, games, or early education content.
-Whether the video includes songs, stories, or poems for children.
How Does this Law Affect Content Creators?
As of the activation of the COPPA law, YouTube creators are required to mark their videos, both those already published and those they upload in the future, as content created for children or not. If a creator does not correctly mark their audience in all their videos, YouTube may take action with respect to the channel and may face legal problems with the competent authorities.
In addition to the creator’s own communication, YouTube performs reviews on the uploaded content and, if it finds a video that it considers to be for children but was not classified as such, it will mark it as “Created for children”. If YouTube classifies one of these videos as such, the audience of that video can no longer be changed, but YouTube’s decision can be appealed (by clicking on the button that appears above the restriction).
- Changes in functionalities
If a video or live stream is classified as “Created for children” it will not have the following YouTube features: automatic playback on the main page, cards or end screens, watermark, comments, “Like” and “Dislike” buttons from YouTube Music, the option to save to a playlist or save to “Watch later”, “Donate” button, live chat or donations in live chat, promotional items and ticket sales, personalized advertising, playback in the “Miniplayer”, super chat or super stickers.
And, if the entire channel is classified as “Created for children” it will not have: channel memberships (Join button), notification bell, community tab and YouTube stories.
- Changes in audience (algorithm)
The objective of YouTube’s recommendation systems is to help users find the videos they want to watch and thus show them the content they like. This principle is maintained in the “created for children” videos, so the algorithm only recommends videos marked under the same classification among themselves.
Therefore, if your video is for children, it can only appear recommended when a video is also being watched for children. And, although this may seem like it will limit your audience, the reality is that there are more possibilities that your videos will be seen more now since it is only recommended to the appropriate audience (children).
- Changes in monetization (income received)
In all videos and channels “created for children” personalized ads will no longer be shown (a type of advertising that is done by storing user data, which is shown in a personalized way to users based on past use of Google products and services) and will be governed by the same principles as the advertising that is served on YouTube Kids. Thus, ads from the following categories will not be shown:
-Media content not suitable for minors: it is prohibited to publish media content not suitable for users under 13 years of age. This is the case of movie ads with a rating above “PG” (according to the MPAA) and TV shows with a rating above “G” (according to the US TV Parental Guidelines system).
-Beauty and fitness: it is not allowed to publish ads for products related to personal care, fitness, exercise, weight loss, diets and nutrition.
-Dating or relationships: paid ads for dating sites, family counseling and services related to marriage or divorce cannot be published.
-Food and beverages: it is prohibited to publish ads for food and beverage products, regardless of nutritional content.
-Illegal or regulated products: it is not allowed to advertise products that are not suitable for children or that are subject to advertising regulations. This also applies to products that put children’s safety at risk.
-Online or virtual communities: ads for platforms and services related to virtual communities created for members to interact online cannot be published.
-Ads related to politics: it is prohibited to publish paid ads of any kind about politics, whether about political candidates or the position they hold, about political parties, about political action or fundraising committees, or about their activities.
-Religious ads: it is not allowed to publish paid religious ads of any kind.
-Video games: ads for electronic video games (or their accessories) for video consoles, computers or any other electronic device (such as mobile phones or tablets) cannot be published if their rating is not suitable for children under 13 years of age. For example, ratings such as “E10” (according to the ESRB system in the United States), 12 (according to the PEGI system in Europe) or any other equivalent in the sector according to the IARC are allowed. Ads for applications or websites with educational and interactive material, such as puzzles, worksheets, math problems and language learning exercises, are also allowed.
And ads for the following are also completely prohibited:
-Sexual and adult content: sexual or adult content intended for adults and not suitable for users under 13 years of age.
-Brands: paid ads must clearly show the appropriate brands of the advertiser or the product being advertised in the video. The user has to be able to distinguish the paid ad from the general content of YouTube.
-Contests: promotions of contests or sweepstakes, even if they are free.
-Dangerous content: dangerous or inappropriate content for users under 13 years of age, or for which adult supervision is usually necessary.
-Incitement to consumption: promotions or content that encourage children to buy products or services, or to ask their parents or other people for them.
-False or misleading claims: paid ads cannot contain misleading information for children or false or unsubstantiated claims. All claims must be justified in the video itself. Paid ads cannot have implications related to improving social status. Paid ads cannot mention product features that do not work or calls to action that are impossible to carry out.
-Violent content: violent and explicit content intended for an adult audience and not suitable for users under 13 years of age.
Due to all these restrictions, although the channels and videos “created for children” continue to monetize, they may experience a drop in the income they were receiving before 2020. Now there are many fewer ads that can be served in these videos / channels and that means that the percentage of monetized views is reduced.
How Does this Law Affect Advertisers?
As explained in the previous section, there are many restrictions on advertising that can be served on channels and videos “created for children”. Even so, if the spot does not belong to those restricted or prohibited categories, any advertiser can buy advertising that is served in these contents for children both in Google Adsense (auction), as in Instant Reserve or Google Ad Manager.
Even so, there are differences between them:
In Google Ads, although you can select channels or keywords where to serve your advertising, since it is a purchase in auction mode, it cannot be guaranteed that the ad will be served or how many times it appears associated with a specific video or another. That is why results cannot be guaranteed.
In addition, these ads are the last ones that are served. That is, first the ones that have been purchased in “reserve” mode are served, so it is possible that in certain moments of high demand (such as in the Christmas campaign) auction ads are not served because all the available inventory has been previously reserved.
To carry out advertising with guaranteed results (reserve a number of impressions served) and know in which channels the spot appears, both Instant Reserve and Google Ad Manager can be used. In addition, campaigns can be reserved well in advance in both tools.
The difference between them is that in Instant Reserve you cannot select the specific channel in which the advertising will be served or how many impressions will be served in that channel, but it is purchased by “packages” of thematic verticals (selected by Google).
Google Ad Manager is the tool that allows the greatest degree of control over an advertising campaign since you can reserve impressions on a specific channel or video. Very few companies in Spain have this software, since it is reserved for large content networks on YouTube (2btube is one of the companies that does have this tool since it reaches around 1,000 million views per month).
In addition, campaigns reserved through this tool can be activated quickly (without having to wait the 48 hours or even the 7 days that it takes to activate through the other tools).
It also allows an exceptional possibility for advertisers to be contracted: the “Sponsorship” modality, which allows obtaining 100% of the inventory of a channel and therefore preventing another advertiser from appearing while their campaign lasts.
Direct hiring by Google: if you have a large budget you can hire your campaigns directly with the Google team.
Therefore, for advertisers who are interested in controlling the advertising they serve, selecting the specific channels in which the spot will appear, without needing a minimum investment and with a quick activation, Google Ad Manager is the tool that best suits their needs. With it they can reserve, at a fixed price and well in advance, the impressions to be served. This is especially recommended for times with a lot of advertiser saturation (Christmas campaign).
FAQ’S
-Are these changes active in all countries?
Yes. Although the COPPA Law is a US law, the changes have been implemented worldwide on YouTube.
-What consequences can a wrong communication of your content as child or non-child have?
YouTube has reported that if you do not mark your content correctly you may face legal problems in accordance with COPPA and other laws. If you make inappropriate use of YouTube’s systems and mislabel your videos deliberately, you may have to assume consequences that affect your videos or your channel (not yet defined).
-If I have marked that my entire channel does not have content for children and then I realize that some video does belong to that category, can I change my statement? (or vice versa)
Even if you mark the general options for the entire channel, you can always go to a specific video and select the option that corresponds. Thus, in the event that you have made a mistake, you can always solve it.
-Can a video that YouTube has marked as “Created for children” be appealed if I consider that it is not well classified?
Yes, you can click on the “Appeal” button and YouTube will manually review the video to make a decision on whether or not the video is for children.
-If my videos are suitable for everyone, do I have to classify them as “for children”?
No, only videos specifically aimed at children (due to the language, the images that appear or who stars in them) should be classified as such. What’s more, your videos marked as “not created for children” may be seen by children, but if your intention is not to address that audience and when speaking you do not address children, it is not considered content “created for children”
-If I am an advertiser or a brand, how can 2btube help me?
If you are an advertiser, 2btube can completely design and manage your campaign (ensuring KPI’s, brand safety, selection of related channels and inventory reservation) We have an expert team in children’s content and how to serve advertising that complies with the COPPA Law. In addition, by having our own Google Ad Manager, we can serve premium advertising on channels in our network.
-If I have a YouTube channel, what is the difference between being part of 2btube or not?
2btube offers extra advantages for the channels that are part of its network, both in terms of advice and content protection and in terms of income generation. By having its own Google Ad Manager, 2btube can sell advertising spaces on your channel directly to brands, so you don’t have to depend only on the AdSense that comes to you through the advertising sales made by Google. Normally, not all visits to your channel are monetized and with this tool we can increase the number of monetized views. In addition, by working with dozens of brands in the children’s sector, we can present your channel in proposals for branded content or influencer marketing actions.