GameRager: Besides being from slate(they tend to slant their articles all one way), that article's opening headline should be a tip off on how biased it's going to be. This is not to say it might not have some nuggets of truth buried in it somewhere, though, so thanks for posting it so people can compare between sources.

GameRager: No, it's most likely more about collecting fines from big fish under the guise of being to protect minors....most of the biggest fines levied out by COPPA/the FTC were to harmless or nearly harmless things done by companies with deep pockets.

GameRager: Coppa would still be the ones suing, but yes google would be at fault a bit for passing the buck to creators and throwing them under the bus to avoid paying more fines(while at the same time seemingly being ok with running ads on demonitized channels and collecting income from such ads).

GameRager: No, it changed because some overly worried parents complained because timmy or suzy had to watch an ad or two that was based on what channels they watched/other data being collected by YT itself.

GameRager: Not all are worried about it for that reason(the first bit).....some are worried it might cause their favorite creators to leave, and creators are worried the FTC might fine them so badly they would have to get lawyers and(if fined) that they'd have to take out loans/etc to pay such off.

Also why is it a bad thing to worry about losing one's livelihood in and of itself?

As for children being used in videos.....many parents use their kids as free labor already and it's considered a good thing...so your point with that bit is?

GameRager: Agreed 100%, and this should be cleaned up IMO.

GameRager: Some(including me) do care about censorship or tame content being removed due to being hit under a vague set of rules, even if you might not believe so.
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Also thanks for replying and weighing in in a civil and well written manner. It is appreciated. I will also, btw, be updating this thread as the law goes into effect/more info becomes available....so stay tuned, everyone.
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GameRager: That could mostly be stopped by parents either using an ad blocker or not letting their kids control their spending so much(ads don't work if parents say no and don't buy).
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GameRager: The problem is their algorithms are cr*p most times and hit people accidentally all the time. Add to that the vagueness of these newly proposed rules and you can see why I give pause to all this.

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GameRager: Youtube still has some good let's plays, and other games related content like parodies/reviews as well...it;d be a shame to see that possibly hit by the new COPPA rules.

Also an aside: Now I am curious how much it costs(not including startup costs and including such) to make such videos for various creators.

Fender_178: I'm not so sure that these rules will ruin LPs of games though because if you read the article in post 70 the new rules won't effect content creators of LPs it is effecting content creators who use their kids to help boost their fame and profits.

Fender_178: This has nothing to do with edgy content but the privacy of kids online and content creators who expose their kids like people in the Shay group who exposed their kids on a daily basis for boost in fame and fortune.

Fender_178: YouTube just paid a 170 million dollar fine for collecting personal information of kids without the permission of their parents. Also it has been mentioned that LPs on YouTube have been a dying bread thanks to live-streaming on Twitch.

Fender_178: Also it has been mentioned that LPs on YouTube have been a dying breed thanks to live-streaming on Twitch.

GameRager: Some(including me) do care about censorship or tame content being removed due to being hit under a vague set of rules, even if you might not believe so.

Fender_178: Also this would be great if this would make Google and YouTube rethink about putting ads on the edgy content as well. Yeah I knew COPPA has been around since 1998.

Nicole28: That's why I feel that some of the public figures are being hyperbolic. Youtube (and the web even) is being restricted for a long time. If anyone really cares, there is a lot more fighting to be done, and on various fronts. But I know that these people don't really do.

Nicole28: I don't view a lot of edgy content much, but I often thought that it would be rather jarring seeing something like a palm resort advertisement right next to a gory scene. Hah.

Nicole28: Well, the way I see it, is that the ship has sailed a long time ago. Before the big outfits got their claws in, the way it's supposed to be was, people just put up whatever content they want. The only ones that need to be dealt with are plagiarizers. And on a public-type site where you have audiences of all groups and ages, it's common sense that explicit sexual content and real-life gore should not be uploaded. Other then that, it's a free-for-all. High freedom on anything you can share.

But that is gone. Right now, when you upload a video on youtube, it doesn't even go live immediately. It gets checked first, and if anything is claimed, the video could get blocked from certain regions, unable to be viewed on certain platforms or in the worst case not able to go live at all. In the past, you would even get strikes on your account just for the act of uploading, even when no one has seen the video yet.

This is an example in a course of potential restrictions. Some are obstacles that google deliberately enacted even when there could be a better way. Certainly, someone like you cares about freedom, where you aren't interested in making money off a piece of content if you don't strictly own it, the key that is important is just the genuine freedom of viewership.

That's why I feel that some of the public figures are being hyperbolic. Youtube (and the web even) is being restricted for a long time. If anyone really cares, there is a lot more fighting to be done, and on various fronts. But I know that these people don't really do. Perhaps, you can say that one doesn't want anymore potential restrictions added. However, I don't see the American government as being really invested in these. The actions they take is largely because of Hollywood paying them. It isn't like the Chinese government who has a real interest in what content people are uploading, and pulling it down if they don't like it enough.

Nicole28: I don't view a lot of edgy content much, but I often thought that it would be rather jarring seeing something like a palm resort advertisement right next to a gory scene. Hah.

GameRager: It still has the potential to hit some such channels and others who mean well along with the others, mainly due to how YT has implemented the proposed guidelines(no middle content option to mark vids....just either for kids or for adults only).

GameRager: YT is using it to their advantage to get rid of such content, though, as they cannot sell many ads on such and it drives off some advertisers.

Also why is it so bad for people to use their kids to make a few extra bucks by showing them in videos? It's not like the kids are being forced to slave away in a factory like in the past or similar.
(Also most of them probably like the fame and attention)

GameRager: This might hit gaming parodies as well, and other similar types and styles of content....due to how YT has implemented it....and that might impact some people just trying to make a living in good ways. That is what I worry about, and a few other things.

Fender_178: How would you like have camera shoved in your face day after day? The kids involved have no choice in the matter because they are way too young to figure out what is going on.

Fender_178: Granted I am not going after the channels who use YouTube to document their child's life. I do agree that they need a center option that applies to both parties just like Movies do because there are movies out there that are for both kids and adults. As long as the channel and videos are marked properly I don't see a problem however YouTube has been known to mess up on more than one occasion here so who the hell knows what is going to happen here.

sanscript: IMDB did it... Netflix did it... others did it... Now youtube is in the progress of limiting open discussion. Without clearer and on-point rules any one that isn't liked can be "interpreted" the wrong way and thrown out of YT.

Crosmando: Sadly the internet is becoming more and more corporatized and homogenized in recent years, and anything weird or edgy or just different is weeded out to make sites more "safe" for advertisers. I miss the wild west days of the internet in the early 00's.

Crosmando: I miss the wild west days of the internet in the early 00's.

GameRager: ================================
With COPPA set to roll out on Youtube on or around January 1st, 2020** & the FTC preparing to levy fines of UP TO $42,000 per video, many channels are now at risk of being fined(or at the very least losing a good chunk of ad revenue). Because of this some are either starting petitions to send to the FTC/YT or even considering leaving the site, as the current COPPA changes seem to make most such content that was once "ad friendly" and ok to post now in an area that's uncertain at best and fine worthy at worst.....including game reviews and let's plays, and anything else that might appeal to children for some reason(including using bright colors, showing toys, showing animation, using some terms like "cool" or "whatever", etc).

So what do you guys think of all this? Will people be leaving YT en masse over this or be forced off due to potential fines, or something else? Will you be singing the petitions or just heading for other sites if this leads to many creators leaving YT?

I myself love many creators who might get hit by this, and hope some of them will be able to continue somehow or move on to another site and continue there at the very least...