On January 16, 2018, YouTube unveiled a slew of changes to its YouTube Partner Program of which YouTubers must be a part in order to earn ad revenue from their hard work on the platform. These changes are the absolutely ridiculous new requirements of having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within the past year. New channels had to immediately meet these thresholds before entering the YouTube Partner Program while pre-existing channels were kicked out of the program on February 20 if they did not meet both of these requirements. Thus, we are demanding that YouTube abolish these new requirements and undo demonetizing these small YouTubers for having under 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time.

Not only do these new rules obviously hurt already-established channels such as mine, but they also greatly hinder the ability of regular people with a dream to make YouTube their fantastically entrepreneurial job. For example, here comes a personal story, my personal story. My name is Shane Mumma and I'm the man behind the technology YouTube channel Warenotice. I started Warenotice back in 2015 when I was going through quite a hard period in my life. I was a freshman in high school and I was treated poorly by my peers, and I felt as if I was trapped in a horrible place. Then, I started Warenotice. It was my way out of whatever nonsense kids gave me at school. It was, to be honest, my "happy place." My videos were popular and I loved it. I've been totally dedicated to Warenotice ever since and now I have nearly a quarter of a million total views on YouTube. But you know what I didn't have when YouTube announced these rule changes? 1,000 subscribers.

So, when I read that YouTube was making these changes (you can read them for yourself here) it absolutely broke my heart. YouTube saved me from despair and makes me happier than I can even put into words. And the fact that this great feeling is set to be stolen from me soon is terrifying and deeply saddening. It's hard to justify to others spending hours upon hours working on videos if I'm not earning so much as a penny. It's also hard to even make those videos without money--I'm a tech YouTuber who needs to unbox things, and unboxings can get expensive.

I also know a handful of other small YouTubers who are just getting started on the platform. The thought that the big iron hand of YouTube is set to crush their dreams too is also significantly saddening. It was bad enough that YouTube had set a 10,000 total view minimum for monetization earlier, but hey, at least that would only amount to give or take $10 of loss in the long run for YouTubers. But this early 2018 YouTube Partner Program change is absolutely ridiculous and inexcusable. I know that I will not stand by while YouTube crushes my aspirations, the aspirations of my friends, and the aspirations of small YouTubers worldwide in an effort to please giant corporate advertisers scared off by the disgusting likes of Logan Paul. YouTube, we all come from humble beginnings, and so do you. It's time you remember this and #DoNotDemonetize the up and coming YouTube star that every single last one of us is.

Sincerely,

Shane Mumma

CEO, Warenotice

youtube.com/warenotice