YouTube can be a bit strict when it comes to what kind of content it allows on its platform. Over the past few years, it has banned hundreds of thousands of videos and multiple creators for posting content that violates its guidelines. In less extreme cases, it demonetizes videos, meaning that creators suffer a financial loss when posting problematic content.
However, it now appears that the platform is going to be more lenient when it comes to certain guidelines.
In a recent update to its ads policy, the company stated that it will now allow some amount of profanity such as "sh*t" and "b*tch" in the first 30 seconds of a video. Similarly, infrequent usage of "f*ck" will also be permitted. Meanwhile, words like "hell" and "damn" are allowed as-is in thumbnails as well as media content. Some adult themes in the context of jokes will not be penalized either. You can check what YouTube considers some of the adult themes in its guidance here.
The company further went on to say that:
[...] We"re expanding monetization on educational, documentary or news content that may include violent interactions with law enforcement, recreational drugs and drug-related content, or sensitive events. We’re also expanding monetization for controversial issues where non-graphic, objective discussions of controversial issues are in the video.
All in all, this is good news for content creators who tip-toe around the edge when it comes to relatively adult content and themes. Previously, they had to be extremely cautious around YouTube"s policies, but now, they can breathe a bit easier knowing that their monetization status won"t be in danger from relatively minor infractions of YouTube"s guidelines.