YouTube no longer has the rights to your comments in perpetuity. Chances are, many of the people reading this didn’t know that YouTube owned their comments forever, which is what “in perpetuity” means. That’s part of the problem with online terms of service agreements. Few people read them. Even fewer remember what they say after they read them. If you use YouTube for your organization, though, you should know about YouTube’s new rules.
You can read the entire announcement about YouTube’s new rules. If you don’t care to do so, here are the highlights.
Permissions haven’t changed
YouTube’s rights to your content haven’t changed, but they’ve been clarified. You can remove videos you’ve uploaded, and Google has a page with instructions on how to do so. YouTube is also stating clearly that they get to analyze your content automatically to determine what you have going on in your videos. We’ve seen that sometimes the automatic systems make mistakes, so YouTube has also clarified how you can appeal their decisions. However, they are also reminding everyone that they don’t have to host your content. They have the right to refuse to show your video.
Your personal acceptance of the terms now extends to your company
YouTube specifically allows you to promote your company or organization in your videos or other content. You and your company are completely responsible for copyright violations or going against the community guidelines.
You are not allowed to falsify usage data — for example, you can’t hire people to click thumbs up on your video.
Rules about contests are stricter
Since rules about contests in social media change frequently, we’ll just link to the current rules. Check them every time you plan a new contest. The rules could have changed since the last time you ran a contest.
YouTube is an awesome platform and resource. It’s worth keeping up with the regulations so you don’t find yourself banned or your content removed.
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