Cancel Culture Strikes Again!
More and More, my Art Videos are Being Age-Restricted by YouTube (aka Google)
YouTube apparently believes that art should be censored to “protect” viewers under 18 years of age. They’ve expressed to me that videos of my artworks will somehow harm or compromise those people.
The irony is that most of my videos that they’ve recently age-restricted have been on YouTube for a decade, and some even longer.
The other irony, to me anyway, is that my videos are of art, my art. They are created with airbrushes on canvas and metal and they comply with YouTube and Google standards because they are art. Let me repeat that for the mad hat censors at Google, THEY ARE PAINTINGS!
In the end, like when Facebook spanked me for my art back in 2020, all I can do is comply. Resistance is futile, and art is subjective.
What Happens When Content is Age-Restricted?
ACCORDING TO GOOGLE (YouTube): Age-restricted videos are not viewable to users who are under 18 years of age or signed out. Also, age-restricted videos cannot be watched on most third-party websites. Viewers who click an age-restricted video on another website, such as an embedded player, will be redirected to YouTube or YouTube Music. Once there, they can only view the content when signed in and over 18. This process helps make sure that no matter where content is discovered if a video is hosted by YouTube it will only be viewable by the appropriate audience.
The Big Question Is...
Should you have to give up your personal information to Google by setting up an account just so they can track your every visit?
Unless I’m missing something, there are far more concerning videos on YouTube than my simple videos of artworks being created in the studio. So, aside from tracking your private information, what is Google’s real intent?
But my bigger concern is that you, me, we, are being censored from creating, sharing, and seeing art. Not just my art, but lots of art. And all because someone somewhere wrote an algorithm that said if one person is offended, ban it all.
Just for clarification, as is with Facebook, my artworks comply with YouTube’s Nudity and Sexual Content Policy as expressed in their video below, at least as I understand it.
- Nudity: YouTube does not allow nudity that is “meant to be sexually gratifying (like pornography)” but there are instances where nudity can have scientific value, like a video with imagery of a medical professional conducting a physical examination. In addition, YouTube may allow videos posted by a photographer exhibiting nude portraits or a music video featuring nude or semi-nude dancers “for artistic purposes.”
But as I expressed in my Facebook mentioned above, their site, their rules.
I don’t expect everyone to love my art. My art isn’t for everyone. I get that. But what I know is that my art is not pornography as suggested by YouTube, and it saddens me somewhat that algorithms define what is art today.
What's Next?
My next more is a simple yet tedious one. As I continue to update the ADCook.com website, I am migrating my videos from YouTube to Vimeo and updating this website one video at a time. Bare with me on this — there are a lot of videos scattered throughout this website.
- About the Author
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A.D. is an artist who started drawing at a young age. Throughout his life, he has worked with different creative tools in traditional and digital art and design. His art and writings have been showcased in various publications such as Airbrush Action Magazine, Airbrush Magazine, American Art Collector, Art & Beyond, Dream To Launch, Easyriders, Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Weekly, L’Vegue, ModelsMania, Quick Throttle, and The Ultimate Airbrush Handbook.
