Youtube’s Age-Restriction System Can Have Devastating Effects, RTGame Is the Latest Victim

YouTube has been a source of both joy and frustration for content creators. The platform has recently been demonetizing and age-restricting videos for the slightest of offenses, causing creators to constantly adapt their content in order to make a living. This has been particularly difficult for popular YouTuber RTGame, who recently had dozens of his videos age-restricted with limited ads for no apparent reason.

Age restriction is a major problem for YouTube creators, as it drastically reduces the potential audience for their content. Not only are people not logged in to the website unable to view age-restricted videos, but such content also has limited ads, meaning less potential for revenue. The situation is made worse by YouTube’s policy of retroactively age-restricting videos that violate their recent changes, meaning more creators are likely to be affected.

RTGame’s story is particularly heartbreaking, as his annual “Best of RTGame 2022” video was age-restricted. Subsequent playthroughs of Supermassive’s The Quarry and other games like Mario Party and Persona 5 were also age-restricted, as were a Lego build and private content that was uploaded 11 years ago. Despite appealing the decision, YouTube told RTGame that the restrictions on his videos would not be lifted, leaving him feeling “absolutely devastated.”

The consequences of age restriction can be disastrous for content creators. Not only is the content blocked from being viewed by those not logged in, but they are also slapped with limited ads, meaning a loss in revenue. YouTube reps have refused to lift the age restrictions on RTGame's videos, leaving him "absolutely devastated."

Others have stepped in to help, such as popular streamer Ludwig, who is attempting to raise awareness of the issue. However, the main concern is that YouTube is retroactively applying policy changes to videos, meaning more creators could be affected soon.

Conclusion

YouTube's age-restriction system can have devastating effects on content creators. The main concern is that YouTube's policy changes could lead to more creators facing the same problem. It remains to be seen if YouTube will address this issue or if it will continue to negatively impact creators. It’s a difficult situation for RTGame and other creators, but hopefully, YouTube will make changes to its policies in the near future to ease their burden.