YouTube Monetization Policy

YouTube Ads Guidance. General Rules

 To be suitable for ads, all your content must meet our advertiser-friendly content guidelines. Try to avoid the topics stated below. If it is hardly possible, try presenting the material without focus to the sensitive issues, or by giving more context that would make the delivery more advertiser-friendly. If having to talk about sensitive issue – try avoiding language that might be not advertiser-friendly and surely avoid it being repetitive (for example, instead of terms “child rape” or “child abuse”– try rephrasing into “criminal activity against children”).

All of this concerns the video text and visuals content, thumbnails, descriptions and titles. Special attention to the things YouTube sees first: thumbnail, description, title.

INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

Strong profanity in the thumbnail, title or description. If there is need to use strong language as part of the quote in the video, ask the video editor to add BEEP sound to it, and if duplicated on the screen add * (f*ck)

 VIOLENCE

Content where the focal point is on blood, violence, or injury, when presented without other context, is not suitable for advertising.

No content containing gruesome, graphic, or disgusting accounts or imagery.

No content depicting acts of violence (Accounts or images of shootings, explosions, etc.)

No cruelty towards animals, animal deaths or suffering

 ADULT CONTENT

Sexually explicit content: graphic, or text, or audio

Content that may be interpreted as promoting prostitution

Animal mating scenes

Nudity with visible intimate body parts

Sexually suggestive content: related to sex-industry, sex toys, talking about or showing fetishes, giving sexual advice

 SHOCKING CONTENT (+upsetting, disgusting)

Depicting body parts, liquids, waste

Explicit medical and cosmetic procedures 

Accidents and injuries (disturbing)

Animal preparation and sensationalized animal eating

 HARMFUL, DANGEROUS ACTS

Inappropriate pranks, challenges

Content that threatens or advocates for physical or mental harm 

Harm to self, harm to others or harmed by others

Content related to suicide, eating disorders, bullying, harassment, domestic violence, or other forms of abuse and self-harm

Dangerous acts that might result in harm 

 HATEFUL CONTENT

Content that incites hatred against an individual or group based on the following: race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity

Content promoting or celebrating terrorism

Shaming, insulting, demeaning, defamation

 DRUG-, TOBACCO-RELATED CONTENT, FIREARM

Promoting sale, use or creation of illegal drugs

Promoting sale or creation tobacco-related products

Promoting sale, use or creation firearm

Abuse or misuse of firearm

 CONTROVERSIAL OR SENSITIVE EVENTS

‘Controversial issues' refers to topics that may be unsettling for our users and are often the result of human tragedy. 

 Controversial issues: child abuse, pedophilia, child marriage, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, self-harm, suicide, eating disorder, domestic abuse, abortion, bullying

 A sensitive event is usually an unforeseen event in which there has been a loss of life, typically as a result of a pre-planned malicious attack. Sensitive events can cause a mournful response from the public or, at times, an extreme or visceral reaction. An event must be relatively recent if it’s going to be considered a sensitive event. Context is important and, for instance, content that provides authoritative news reporting on a sensitive issue, or documentary videos about a historic event, may be eligible for monetization. 

 Sensitive events: atrocious acts that result in the loss of human lives, such as mass shootings, armed conflict, death, tragic events, terrorist acts