YouTube tightens rules around videos with external links
YouTube is adding new requirements for users who link out to crowdfunding campaigns or other external sites in their videos. Users must now join the YouTube Partner Program in order to add end cards with external links — a common way for YouTubers to point fans toward merchandise or Patreon pages. This limits the cards to channels with 10,000 total public views or more, once YouTube has approved them for the program.
A YouTube spokesperson says this is supposed to curb abuse of the cards by letting the platform individually evaluate channels before allowing them. Like many YouTube policy tweaks, the change has caused confusion among users, several of whom believed YouTube was intentionally blocking links to Patreon campaigns. The...