YouTube channel owners: Is your content directed to children?

Share This Page


The FTC action against YouTube and Google


A COPPA recap




How COPPA applies to channel owners


How channel owners can determine if their content is directed to children



  • the subject matter,
  • visual content,
  • the kind of music or other audio content,
  • the age of models,
  • language or other characteristics of the site,





What are the possible penalties for violating COPPA?


Isn’t the FTC taking another look at the COPPA Rule?


Where can channel owners go for more information?




I have heard this new law will affect youtube. It should’ve have to! YouTube for kids was made for a reason, I feel this rule needs some edits or else the platform might be ended as a whole. If a video is labeled “Not for kids”, it shouldn’t have to result in stuff such as inability to research or large fines. I am sure there has to be some way to protect kids information without endangering millions of channels. Just try to make some edits to this rule that could appease the people without killing other channels.

Were do I go to say it’s not for children Or for them

What if someone does Sims 4 building videos? Are those under COPPA too?

What about cartoons that are inappropriate and show violence, sexual content, blood, gore, etc?

the vague outline of the rules are outrageous. it shouldn't be my responsibility to define my video when children under the age of 13 should NOT have a youtube account in the first place and when it is also NOT my responsibility but the parents to guard children on what is for children or not! youtube is throwing its creators under the bus for something we did not do.

a better solution, If coppa made youtube to let kids have Gmail accounts then kids would put their REAL age. Knowing that, Youtube will automatically turn off personalized ads for the kids they know are under 13, Thus they won't track kid's search history...

There is a YouTube for Kids for a reason. Make sure that the children use that instead of ruining our beloved content creators on YouTube!!!!

What if the video is unlisted and only sent to a few people? for example on a website?

Can you add another audience choice which is “ for all ages”

So as a small youtuber, i just want to cover all my bases. What about dating simulator games? If im readingg this right, as long as my stuff isnt directly directed to kids and im careful of the ads playing on it that should be fine? Also i have my youtuber sprite in my vids cause my webcam isnt that gonna affect me?

I'm an animator. Does this mean simple animations are out of the question? Do I have to make only "adult cartoons"? Does this include portfolio pieces? How am I supposed to get work if I can't display my work because I'm scared of being fined? Isn't this affecting my freedom of expression? How am I even supposed to afford a fine if this prevents me from doing anything as an animator?

As a safe way to avoid this, everyone should mark every single video they upload 18+ , so that no children will see any video of theirs. Making youtube a wasteland for a kids account.

Problem with that is that YouTube could demonitize still.

Gaming channel with Kids game and Abusive language then in which type it would come Kids or Adult

I’m a YouTuber and I do it on my iPad but I don’t no how to comply with the coppa on my iPad.

Is there a way that YouTubers with kids content can have a little more freedom?

This is dumb, YouTube is a place for people to express their feelings, so what if it’s family friendly?

Why are content creators being punished for something Google did? Google's user analytics is the real problem. Its a repeat offense they have gotten in trouble for, tracking their users. And even so, these guidelines would put EVERY content creator in danger of a massive lawsuit that looks unpayable when you consider alot of youtube channels. 42K per violation is WAY OUT there.

hey im a little creator and im wondering what if its a gun game like call of duty fortnite and stuff like that or gaming in genral

what happends if i choose adults but its actually for kids?

This video is not intent for children

What if I make a video of stacking firewood and my 5 year old boy helps stack the wood? Is he considered a 'child actor'?

Dear sir madam my purpose for my chanel only for tourisim not unlike videos i uploading just for information about traveling im not usa citizen but i can i speak english very wel i undersatand best of luck safe and share my videos thank you

What about animators,they wint be affected?I didnt understood whe i read

What about bus and train videos on Youtube? I typically upload these types of videos on my channel. Is it considered "Made for Kids" or "Not Made for Kids"? If, you're reading this, please help me.

You don't decide what's for kids and what isn't. That's not how this should work.

I never make this video for kids

what about brickfilms/ stop motion animations? i make those i need to know if they are "made for kids" or not.

what if the owner of the channel is under the age of 13 but doesn't direct content towards kids and their channel content isn't for kids?

i dont understand why a kid under the age of 13 cant create a channel, not all kids are immature and like toys and gaming, i think they should be able to post content

does family vloggers considered not made for kids? yes? or no?

Dear FDA

My channel is new and based on glass bottle paintings. I am a homemaker and mother too.
I can't go out to work so decided to work and earn through my passion for art. I got YouTube as platform to earn while raising my kids.
But when I got to know about this new rule COPPA I am confused whether my bottle painting (which I do on alcohol bottles and jars) comes under MADE for KIDS or not.

Because bottle glass painting is something which adult also enjoy.

Please, go through my request and requesting you to elaborate the rule serails

so youtube has made a statement recently, on a video in an attempt to answer some top questions about the situation. "Mixed audience content, on the other hand, is considered a type of made for kids content." how accurate is this statement in relation to COPPA?

Hi I'm a new YouTuber I'm using my phone to make and upload my cooking vedio ,This are not for kids, but I can't find options in my phone settings to select the option plz help me to resolve it. Thank you

I'm an aspiring artist who was making timelapse drawing videos on YouTube in a cartoon style, though my intended audience was teens and adults. A lot of my work was bloody or contained adult humor, though not all of it - and the less crude art is what I've been worried about. The characters I draw are still aimed towards an older audience, but children might come across that art and decide to check it out, which I have no control over. Because the guidelines are so vague, I didn't know how to mark my channel or any of my videos and decided to just delete everything. Now, I'm too scared to make a new channel purely because I'm a practicing cartoonist whose content is intended for an older audience, though some of what I do may be considered to be generalized for all ages - an option that YouTube doesn't have, as far as I'm aware. And what I've gathered from the guidelines is that cartoons = child content and I have no idea how the grey area is going to be addressed. Would adding a disclaimer before every video saying that what I make is not intended for children be enough? Or would I still get in trouble? I would like to create a new art channel, but I do not want a channel that's forced to be "made for children." My intended audience has and always will be teens and adults.

What if we have content that involves toys/video games/characters etc that appeal to children but the content itself is made for adults? Or there is curing in the video? Ex: someone playing a Mario or spyro game on their gaming channel. The games are rated for everyone, but what if the channel owner didn’t make the video for children but actually intended it to be for people in their 20s even though the video is family friendly? Or if the channel owner played the pie face game which is a kids toy, but they used it for some kind of internet challenge and even though the challenge could be done by kids, the content itself was again made for a higher age group? Would those need to be marked as “for children”? And if so, would adding at least one curse word per video change that from “for children” to “not for children”


The blog post says your content isn’t considered “directed to children” just because some children may see it. Read the blog, and read and pages 10 -14 of the complaint in the YouTube case to see examples of channels the FTC considered to be directed to children.

It’s for my kids and for different things more

Thank you for ruining the internet.

Is there a problem with my YouTube homepage?


Are FTC since time to take a break YouTube I am just trying to warn you don't take my YouTube or else I'm going to go shut downI'm whatever affects YouTube I want to fight you cuz whatever tried to take over to you immediately cuz I'm just warning you don't cuss, might come back

how can I accept COOPA that my video clips are no longer for children?

Hello FTC. Why you not have "video for everyone" because some games isn't only kid(-13) but everyone can watching such as minecraft roblox. please keep comments

Say you make Gacha Life videos or animation (memes, animated music videos, etc.) Will COPPA affect the channels that create the videos or are WE safe?

The thing that I want the FTC to take into account is that there are things that appeal to both kids and adults. For example, a YouTube Animator. Of course, animated characters do appeal to a younger audience, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't appeal to an older audience too. That would be like saying that Pixar might be violating rules protecting kids. Sure, there are animated characters there, but they also tackle heavy themes. Take the first few scenes from Up for instance or the suspicions of Helen Parr, that her husband is cheating on her in The Incredibles. That just doesn't make sense. An animation can appeal to anyone, kids, teens, and adult alike. Another big thing is Gaming. Of course, kids play videogames, but adults do the same. There are so many videogames out there, some can be dedicated to children, and others for adults. You don't see a 7-Year Olds playing Dark Souls, but you do see adults playing Undertale. You don't see kids playing Blizzard, but you do see everyone playing Smash Brothers. Videogames are something that, like animation, applies to all ages. If that would happen then, just like online gamers, Nintendo might be violating laws protecting children, because Smash Bros has cool characters, and anyone can play it, but, because kids can play it, and like it, does that mean that adults can't too. Another thing is music. So, because my 7-Year old brother plays the piano, does that mean that my 42-Year old uncle can't? That just doesn't make sense. The same thing with pets, kids aren't the only people in the world who like pets. Adults do too. Also language. Just because kids use the word "cool" or "whatever", adults can still use those words. So under that logic, just because an adult uses the word "oxygen" a kid can't. Even though most kids know what oxygen is and might use it. Or with the word "evaporation", according to the American school system, kids learn about the Water Cycle in the 4th year of school. Where the word evaporation is a keyword. So, because it's an adult word, kids can still use it. It just doesn't make sense. Kids and adults are different but there are thousands of channels out there that, play videogames, animate, play with pets, all those channels, that could be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike. My suggestion is to have that in mind. While evaluating YouTube channels and videos, keep in mind that maybe that content can be enjoyed by both sides. Even though my brother and uncle enjoy the same channel because it teaches them Piano songs varying the difficulty, that channel would have to pay a huge fine because something enjoyed by adults, the piano, could also be enjoyed by kids. In short, just understand that different people lki like different things and that there truly is no way to know what is for kids. Just like both kids, adults, and teens, can enjoy playing instruments, playing with pets, playing videogames, and watching animations.

What if I aim my content at nobody? Like, anyone can watch so...

I'm not gonna lie. Either the people at YouTube had a collective brain Aneurysm, and they thought this was a good idea. Or they're genuinely trying to Destroy their own platform now. if this goes through almost every creator is going to pull out of YouTube from fear of being sued by the FTC.

I want COPPA and FTC to leave YouTube alone


Add new comment

Comment Policy

Privacy Act Statement
