How To Set YouTube Channel Audience | Comply With COPPA

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In order to help you comply with the law, YouTube now requires you to mark all of your videos as made for kids or not. The platform has rolled out a new audience setting that lets you tell it whether your videos are made for kids or not. YouTube is using machine learning systems to help them find content that is clearly made for kids. But, it advises creators NOT to rely on that method as it’s not perfect. A “child” is classified as a person under 13 years of age.

How To Set Your Channel’s Audience

1. Sign in to studio.youtube.com.
2. On the left menu, click Settings.
3. Click Channel.
4. Click the Advanced Settings tab. 
5. Under Audience, select:
   1. “Yes, set this channel as made for kids. I always upload content that’s made for kids.” 
   2. “No, set this channel as not made for kids. I never upload content that’s made for kids.”
   3. “I want to review this setting for every video.” 
6. Click Save.

Set YouTube VIDEO audience:

Set Your Audience DURING UPLOAD

1. Go to studio.youtube.com. Note: to set your audience as made for kids, you’ll need to use YouTube Studio. You won’t be able to do so in Creator Studio Classic. 
2. In the upper right hand corner, click the upload icon. 
3. Click Upload video (beta). If you don’t see this, click Upload video. 
4. On the Basic info tab, scroll to Audience. 
5. Select:
   • “Yes, it’s made for kids”.
   • “No, it’s not made for kids”. 
6. Click Next to continue uploading your content. 

Set Audience For EXISTING Video

1. Sign in to studio.youtube.com.
2. From the left menu, select Videos.
3. Check the boxes next to the videos you’d like to edit. Note: You can select all of your videos by checking the box next to “Video” at the top of your upload list. 
4. Select Edit  Audience  “Yes, it’s made for kids.”
5. Select UPDATE VIDEOS.

YouTube clearly states that if your video content is aimed towards children, the platform now HAS to start limiting the data it collects on these viewers. It will also remove features including:

• Comments
• Personalized ads (so some creators may see a decrease in revenue).
• Info cards
• End screens
• Stories
• Community Tab
• Notification Bell
• The ability for viewers to save videos, watch them later, or save to a playlist.

YouTube were fined $170m for collecting children’s personal data. The FTC has fined Google $136m and company will pay an additional $34m to New York state to resolve similar allegations. So with this happening, the FTC has made the new COPPA Laws.

General Advice Disclaimer: The information contained on this blog post is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from an appropriate person/organisation. We have sourced relevant articles from multiple organisations for more information.