YouTube Alters Streaming Policy Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic
By Adam Noyes
The Covid-19 Pandemic has had a hold on many major areas of the industry, including the platforms which users stream too. Check out this statement from YouTube concerning what streamers can expect from their platform in the coming weeks.
The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19 ) is evolving every day. Please check back here for regular updates on how YouTube is addressing the situation.
Latest Updates
- [13:30 UTC 24 March 2020] Update on adjusted bandwidth usage: Last week, we temporarily defaulted all videos on YouTube to standard definition in the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), and Switzerland (CH). Given the global nature of this crisis, we are expanding that change globally starting today. This update is slowly rolling out, and users can manually adjust the video quality.
- [18:00 UTC 19 March 2020] I’m a YouTube Creator, how can I help? You’ve asked us how you can help with the evolving COVID-19 situation, and as a YouTube Creator, here’s something you can do now → Spread the word to stop the spread. If you choose to use YouTube to share content urging people to #StayHome, consider videos that are helpful, fun and informational and tag #StayHome and ___ #WithMe (e.g. #StayHome and cook #WithMe). For inspiration, check out our channel.
- [17:00 UTC 16 March 2020] Protecting our extended workforce and community: We are taking the steps needed to prioritize the well-being of our employees, extended workforce, and the communities where they live, including reducing in-office staffing in certain sites. We will start relying more on technology to help do some of the work normally done by reviewers, which may result in some accidental removal of content that does not violate our policies. This may affect additional types of YouTube user and creator support and reviews, such as applications for the YouTube partner program or responses on social media.