Future of My Channel and COPPA

New KZbin and FTC regulations have put a hitch in my git-along. Is it just me?
Here are links to register complaints with the FTC:
Regulations.Gov Comments: www.regulation...
FTC Social Media: www.ftc.gov/ne...

[@cliff1634]

I say we should wait to see exactly what happens before we make a decision on whether to leave or not. This whole thing’s a huge confusing mess

[@ceceliawhitney6232]

I'm really hoping enough people can band together to send complaints to KZbin and try and figure out a better way to go about this. I have so many favorite creators here; animators, artists, gamers, musicians, and I'm scared for all of them. As someone who hopes to be an animator on KZbin myself, I'm super concerned for my future as a creator as well. Daria Cohen brought up the idea of a rating system for each video, like movies, and I think that could be a really great idea. Fingers crossed this all works out! 🤞

[@TimeMakerMan]

I'm hoping for the best and I'm sure you might be fine.

[@shanthegamer21]

Mitzi? Is that you?

[@TimeMakerMan]

@@shanthegamer21 Mitzi pic yes, me on the other hand, just a fan that loves fine animation.

[@shanthegamer21]

@@TimeMakerMan I am a fan of fine animation, too! And I care about stories written with unique and fresh vibes.

[@Howdoyouchangepf]

Sorry this is hitting you and you're channel like this, but if I could be honest everything is way too early to really say anything, but I'd say it's at least better if you keep going on here and good luck with your work

[@TheToneBender]

"I'm not even a youtuber, I'm someone who aspires *to be* a youtuber" That's literally me. I just uploaded my first video on a different channel and then I heard about this COPPA stuff. I'm probably fine, because I don't really make childrens content, but these regulations are so vague that they could technically strike anyone. It really demotivates me to even start.

[@rockycuro7737]

I find it funny that everyone freaked out over nothing.

[@Theye101499]

You can go to the FTC website and leave a polite comment before the change happens on DECEMBER 9TH and explain why this new coppa law is not okay and is hurting more than helping. DECEMBER 9TH is the deadline

[@Theye101499]

There is also a change.org petition that you can sign to help.

[@Theye101499]

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/07/25/2019-15754/request-for-public-comment-on-the-federal-trade-commissions-implementation-of-the-childrens-online www.change.org/p/youtubers-and-viewers-unite-against-ftc-regulation?recruiter=342690939&petition_id=18756399

[@klg9549]

I'm glad I left a long, offended comment on the .gov website because I'm hearing it's buckling under all the traffic right now. I know I'm an optimist but I really, really just hope they reconsider. Also, congrats on your second little one! (And that is a cute Gusto)

[@JoannaDavidovich]

LOL! Thank you!

[@chelseascreatures]

I've said it and I'll Say it again, ANIMATION IS NOT JUST FOR KIDS! *sorry for shouting* yes I'm sorry it is a shocker for you (the government) but turns out some of us adults ... actually alot of us adults actually love animated films. MAYBE we leave this to the parents to decide what their children can or can not watch? Maybe? :/

[@wingitprod]

I'm in the exact boat and goal. Late to the party and the lights are shutting down. I say move to other platforms and use yt to promote them. Think outside the box, cuz the big boys are chasing us away. Competition is for sucker, eh? Nice work and channel, btw.

[@hannahvanweeldensvideos4161]

I'm sorry to hear that this affecting you. I remember a while aback that a former Pixar employee is creating a video-sharing website that supposed to be like a hybrid of KZbin and Kickstarter, but I haven't much about it after that.

[@Emerald_Solace]

Please share if you happen to remember :)

[@Rosales3269]

So it's basically damned if you are, damned if they think you are, and damned if you're not. In other words, KZbin is damned to fall apart.

[@Me-xw6mf]

It is so interesting going back to this after four years ago. Literally nothing really changed that much, like all the other times the internet got threatened. Net Neutrality, Article 13, and now this. I wonder what the next big threat to the internet will be, and if it'll actually have any impact next time.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

Yeah, when this rolled out, I was pretty spooked! Glad it was just a big nothingburger.

[@lazyb3e]

Now that's ridiculous I don't understand why you would be fined, your work is harmless and kid friendly

[@krazypipe]

The problem here is that if she's TOO kid friendly then the FCC wants her classified as a Kid channel. Then KZbin won't be able to target adds at her viewers and will cut her revenue.

[@lazyb3e]

@@krazypipe TOO kid friendly? How would that be a PROBLEM? That's plain stupid ಠ_ಠ

[@krazypipe]

@@lazyb3e Ye-e-e-e-ep.

[@Shaymin0]

First of all, if you can check out the Chadtronic video or the Tear of Grace video where they both break it down fantastically. Your channel admittedly is a bit up in the air though I doubt it will affect you too badly. I think you should make the call when you have a better understanding of it and know what you want to do for the future. But more importantly, Please for the love of god open up a patreon or something! An animator of your skills should have no fear of asking just for a little bit of cash especially since you now have a baby, by all means, I'm more than certain a good amount of people will be more than willing to support you a bit. something as simple as commissions for patrons or bonus outtakes or something is more than enough for us. Besides that, if you do plan on starting some projects I think it would be smarter to do a few small projects for yourself. You have a lot on your plate already and a massive animation like monkey rag will take forever without a team and free time. I really don't want to see this channel fall like so many have before. Good luck to you Joanna please don't work yourself to death you don't deserve that at all.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

That is really sweet- thank you for the kind words and I appreciate the advice!

[@JustCallMeHeavy]

Hope you will be ok.

[@GothicOogie]

To be honest I think you should just start on a new platform form just in case. But who knows maybe KZbin to survive but I don't really have High Hopes this time. But I'll keep supporting me because I enjoy your content for whatever choices you make

[@shanthegamer21]

Why did KZbin had to go this kind of direction? They should have found ways to remove toddlers from their site and keep their older viewers. If they did it, we wouldn't be suffering from gibberish comments and random "viewbots" or sh*t.

[@xblade149]

Yeah its called KZbin kids

[@shanthegamer21]

@@xblade149 They did. It's probably not working.

[@xblade149]

@@shanthegamer21 no KZbin is just plain stupid

[@4Curses]

@@xblade149 YOu can´t really blame youtube for parents not giving a fuck about their children and trying to shove it onto the government.

[@2348212]

problem is toddlers make up a large chunk of the youtube ad revenue

[@seankiley7945]

What you want to be is a Content Creator, not necessarily a "you tuber" which is platform specific and may be at its peak (when things are free, you get what you pay for). The internet is a large and ever changing landscape, so please don't hang your hopes on one place. I believe things are headed in the direction of the Patreon and the like personally.

[@SourSourSour]

I've been looking into this a lot over the past, and bounced from one side of panic to the other, watching just about everything on it. After reading FTC latest blog post and watching Folding Ideas video on the matter, everyone is going a bit too crazy. I have settled on KZbin not communicating properly and being really vague. The FTC uses "Directed to Children" in their posts, and the confusion seems to be KZbin's "For Kids". The for kids thing is way less descriptive than what the FTC is saying. I think this whole thing with COPPA is more of a brick than a meteor, and a brick that's targeting very specific companies taking advantage of KZbin's systems. We really don't know what will happen until it does, but I'm leaning more that it won't be as bad as everyone thinks. Take it one step at a time!!

[@4Curses]

Thing is, you have to be critical of everything at anything befor it happens, because all this kind of stuff is a platform that can be later abused.

[@InklingStudio]

I hope you're right Marc. I'm still on the panic side. I'm hoping that the great COPPA disaster turns out to be like the Y2K panic (remember that ? Depending on your age you may not have any idea what that was , but it had folks worked up into a lather for a spell)

[@TheAbsoloop]

Hi, any update how it worked out? I’m curios to start and was wondering if you just carried on with adds or it you marked for kids? Thanks

[@JoannaDavidovich]

So far I haven't been penalized. I need to remember to start putting disclaimers in front of my videos just to cover my butt. Mostly I need to just keep an eye on my monetization settings as they just turn off automatically from time to time. Annoying, but eh- could be worse.

[@TheAbsoloop]

@@JoannaDavidovich Thanks for replying. Looks like it should work out. I feel its become more clear what made for kids mean. I feel they bodged the launch of this by scaring everyone. I saw a report that big kids channels upped production knowing they would survive and the small ones stopped making vids and views dropped. I think its now clear just because kids watch it, that does not mean its made for kids. So I will start my channel. Thanks and good luck!

[@MeanieSMoved]

You can use Vlare.tv to post videos there. Is probably the best to move platforms.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

Thank you - I haven't heard of that one! Will investigate!

[@YOUFREAKINNERD]

👀

[@MeanieSMoved]

@@JoannaDavidovich Your Welcome.

[@Sinistar1983]

@@elialexander3530 newgrounds is the wild wilderness of the internet that feels like it's still not explored.

[@krazypipe]

COPPA covers ALL websites. The FCC will be after them all if they don't fall in line. EVERY platform is covered. Moving platforms is silly.

[@Sakanero]

Get a BitChute channel at the very least just in case. You can set it up to have it auto import all of your youtube content too.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

THATS cool! Looking into that!

[@adamk-paxlogan7330Sucks]

never heard of that site before

[@Sakanero]

@@JoannaDavidovich Happy to help.

[@NervousNecromancer]

uhp. trying to comment on regulations.gov and the site wont load. now THAT'S foreboding.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

Yeah, so it wasn't just me then?

[@NervousNecromancer]

Joanna Davidovich I believe it was on matpat's video on coppa, he interviewed the head of KZbin who much like when Facebook was facing its lawsuit, had to deal with these absolute dinosaurs who didn't know what KZbin is. This website likely can't deal with the sheer traffic it's getting in the panic cos it was designed in 03

[@Sinistar1983]

I hate to say, but I think at this point. I would just book it and find another job, simply for the sake that it's too dangerous. And I really love your art, but I can't have art without the artist. So I hope that what happens in the future will benefit you for the best.

[@davidrileynyc5702]

To my earlier comment, if your video has colors, or animated cartoon characters, COPPA doesn't apply

[@sariansheriff9516]

Am 25 I want to make a channel but now am scared 😱 too .

[@AdamEarleArtist]

I love your work maybe you could try Dtube?

[@MarkDaviesArt]

Just doing a bit of research on this, I believe the definition for kids is any one under the age of 13 years old. So for your live streaming I would most likely set to adult as I cant imagine a huge amount of under 13 years old watching it... might be mistaken but I have tried to teach under 13's to animate and there attention span is super short, cant see them spending hours watching someone animating scenes. I also believe you can change the settings for individual videos to kid friendly or adult so i you made a one off cartoon short and wanted it to be viewed by kids, just change the setting of that one video... but just remember you wont really be making much money on that video... but will work for promotional purposes.

[@ravenman6831]

Hey sweet heart, i got one word for you, DIVERSIFY. KZbin isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I'm not saying it's too big to fail or nothing but it does have a huge following and many many lives relying upon its success so even if it were to fail i guarantee the worldwide community would come together for support in one way or another. Anyhow that's besides the point, KZbin has gone through many iterations over the years and it will continue to change as time goes on and that's where content creators have to find outlets for they're brands outside of KZbin to remain on stable ground. You really have to find what you really want out of this whole game you know, and how far you are both willing and able to push yourself in you're creative realms. In the beginning you ought to find you're niche what is you're specialty, desire, what you want to offer the world and start from there. What you want may be beautiful art, it may be comedy, it may be teaching and the study of art and animation (which could be up your alley), maybe even just you goofing off which would basically be YOU and you're personality what you're offering which is a difficult thing to pull off for some though some go through the "storytime" route with animated storytelling. And that's another thing, do you want to be a "brand" (i know that can be a scary word sometimes its not as bad as some might think unless mismanaged) with merchandise and you as the main focal point or you're content and what you put out being the focus. Anyways, sorry for long text i appreciate you and want to see creators succeed. TLDR: KZbin's fine, take your time, see what you want to do, study and enjoy the ride ... or don't do any of it, don't worry fugetaboutit!

[@JoannaDavidovich]

Thank you- I agree! WIll give it all my level best.

[@davidrileynyc5702]

If you are drawing a cartoon character, COPPA doesn't apply

[@andakaki85]

So sad to hear from you. Same with me. At the right moment better to hide first our channel. Just wait and see after january.

[@charcoalangel7536]

Oh boi

[@CitoVA]

First look up the videos that explain the coppa thing thing next this might be a good thing for the coppa mainly targets children content creators. if that is the case if you change your channel for 13+ you might be able to use that as an oppertunity for adult oriented videos for people that are 13+. Since ad revenue is now going to go to videos and content creators with 13+ age ratings this will give animators more exploration for non children audiences

[@AvroAero1]

Anyone else sing copa cabana song with all these coppa vids

[@JoannaDavidovich]

I was actually thinking of titling this video "At the COPPA, COPPA can-ban-ya!" but thought it would be too confusing. Went for a Yentl reference instead. ;)

[@AvroAero1]

I was just thinking of a title along those lines lol

[@davidrileynyc5702]

If your videos have children, COPPA applies

[@xSoporific1]

Hate to see it

[@-Christoph]

Just mark it as "not children friendly", speak some swear words at the beginning of every video and you're fine. ;-)

[@cliff1634]

oof

[@krazypipe]

First, I am not a lawyer. But I have read this verge article carefully, and the FCC is the one who will be issuing the fines. You are (apologies) not large enough for the FCC to be concerned with. I really doubt that you will be targetted, as you say you are not a KZbinr. Not a fish they want to catch. I also would like to point out that KZbin has no idea what's happening, the FCC has no idea what is happening. We've been living in the cinderella age of survelliance capitalism, where basically they (KZbin and posters) have been allowed to do whatever they want. I am not saying that COPPA is fair, or KZbin's solution is fair, I am just pointing out that both of these entities are just trying to figure out what to do. Think about Facebook and all the survellience they've been getting away with. These firms need to be regulated, and the regulators gotta figure out how to do it in a fair and even way. Sorry to say it, but I expect things are going to be rocky for at least another 5 years or so. Then... well... at least the rules will be stable and SOMEBODY will be able to tell you what to do. So, I don't think you need to worry about this round of regulation, but there are gonna be more.

[@JoannaDavidovich]

I know I'm not a big fish, but I have had (and am still fighting) copyright claims on 100% original work (sound and pictures!) because of a faulty algorithm, and also have had the IRS shake a terrifying finger at me before. I don't think being small is necessarily a protection.

[@krazypipe]

@@JoannaDavidovich You may be right, but you have to remember that the FTC will want this to go smoothly. They are more likely to issue warnings to marginal channels they think are for kids. Any case they take to court they will want to be a slam dunk. Remember a judge has to agree, and also remember that $42,000 is a maximum. Unless they really feel they are justified in shutting a channel down they won't and can't kill a channel with fines. Remember, there will be a judge in these cases. The FTC will try to make KZbin like TV, is my guess. There will be "Family" channels and "Kid" channels. I suspect the dividing line will be if grown ups want to turn off the channel. I think you, Odd1Out, etcetera will be slid into a "family" channel bracket. But then again, it's not my livelihood on the line. And you are absolutely right to be more afraid of the KZbin algorithm than the FTC. If arbitrary rulings come down, they are much more likely to come from KZbin.

[@autismobinch135]

:(

[@spaciepot7578]

A lot of people are understandably spreading a lot of fear about this, but from what i've seen around on the law-savy channels the ftc will likely go after the big/medium sized fish first and foremost just based on logistics. If you want to feel slightly more at ease i'd recommend watching some of Hoeg Law's videos on this topic, what he says doesn't count as legal advice but the picture he paints is not as grim and more fightable than the ftc and youtube are letting on (but in the end, children's content will still essentially die on youtube). If things go as south as everyone's speculating most of us will probably still have time to adapt. here's a link to the channel if you're interested: kzbin.info/door/i5RTzzeCFurWTPLm8usDkQ

[@damotoneko1500]

"Broadcast yourself", huh? Apparently not. Sorry a creator like you has to suffer, just like everyone else. This decision is just pulled from a diaper.

[@awemazingjo]

If you make a patreon, you can post static media like pictures and short animations, and people would appreciate it. Animators typically get a few people who aren't super needy. Some people would demand full complete projects. But as an established artist, if you're consistently posting updates, you can offer previews or side works as incentive and most people would be fine with that.