Ludwig defends YouTube’s controversial profanity rule changes that are demonetizing old videos

YouTube updated their guidelines in Nov. 2022 to crack down harder on inappropriate language in content uploads. The most controversial change was that videos that have profanity used in the first seven seconds or used consistently throughout the video, will be demonetized. The Google-owned site also retroactively demonetized all videos that don’t align with the rule change.

It largely went unnoticed until MoistCr1TiKaL talked about how much it affected his revenue on Dec. 31. Backlash has been growing ever since. Some claimed it could even kill the platform.

Ludwig isn’t sold on that, though. In fact, the marquee streamer believes it’s an important reminder YouTubers ultimately make content YouTube can sell to advertisers.

Ludwig explained that while YouTubers make content for themselves and their personal brands, it has to “fall in line with what YouTube can sell to advertisers,” because that’s what makes the wheels turn.

“People think of YouTube as this great free Utopia,” he said during his stream on Jan. 2. “But the reality of it is that everything you do on YouTube is meant to do two things. One, keep you here longer. That’s why the algorithm is so good. And then two, all the content has to fall in line with what the advertisers want, and that shapes a lot of what the creators make.”

For that reason, he said YouTubers will have no choice but to bend the knee and fall in line with the guidelines, no matter what they are, because, in the end, everyone wants to get paid.

It’s also the reason why he believes YouTube hasn’t done anything too outrageous with these changes. “I don’t think they’ve made any decisions on what is or is not advertiser friendly that people have pushed back again in a big way. They haven’t done anything egregious.”

He did, however, admit it could set a bad precedent that might eventually lead to the creation of a rule that “guts half of YouTube,” or another platform like Twitch that follows suit. If that were to happen, though, he seems to think there is not much content creators can do about it.

That’s because Twitch and YouTube have become so powerful, in his view, that people will lose “nine times out of ten” if they oppose them over policy changes.