YouTube’s “Mission Statement and Community Guidelines” Emma McGuire
YouTube’s mission is to provide fast and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.

Launched in May 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.

YouTube is a Google company.

Respect the YouTube community

We're not asking for the kind of respect reserved for nuns, the elderly, and brain surgeons. Just don't abuse the site. Every cool, new community feature on YouTube involves a certain level of trust. We trust you to be responsible, and millions of users respect that trust. Please be one of them.

Don't cross the line

Here are some common-sense rules that'll help you steer clear of trouble. Please take these rules seriously and take them to heart. Don't try to look for loopholes or try to lawyer your way around the guidelines—just understand them and try to respect the spirit in which they were created.

Nudity or sexual content
YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content. If this describes your video, even if it's a video of yourself, don't post it on YouTube. Also, be advised that we work closely with law enforcement and we report child exploitation.

Harmful or dangerous content
Don't post videos that encourage others to do things that might cause them to get badly hurt, especially kids. Videos showing such harmful or dangerous acts may get age-restricted or removed depending on their severity.

Violent or graphic content
It's not okay to post violent or gory content that's primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or disrespectful. If posting graphic content in a news or documentary context, please be mindful to provide enough information to help people understand what's going on in the video. Don't encourage others to commit specific acts of violence.
Copyright
Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you're authorized to use. This means don't upload videos you didn't make, or use content in your videos that someone else owns the copyright to, such as music tracks, snippets of copyrighted programs, or videos made by other users, without necessary authorizations.

Hateful content
Our products are platforms for free expression. But we don't support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. This can be a delicate balancing act, but if the primary purpose is to attack a protected group, the content crosses the line.

Threats
Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people's personal information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate the Terms of Use are taken very seriously. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube.

Spam, misleading metadata, and scams
Everyone hates spam. Don't create misleading descriptions, tags, titles, or thumbnails in order to increase views. It's not okay to post large amounts of untargeted, unwanted or repetitive content, including comments and private messages.

We review your reports carefully

You might not like everything you see on YouTube. Some of the content might offend you. If you think it's inappropriate, locate the flagging feature on the video and submit it for review by our YouTube staff. Learn more

Our staff reviews flagged videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to determine whether they violate our Community Guidelines. When they do, we remove them. Sometimes a video doesn't violate our guidelines, but might not be appropriate for everyone. These videos may get age-restricted. Accounts are penalized for Community Guidelines violations, and serious or repeated violations can lead to account termination. If an account is terminated, that person won't be allowed to create any new accounts.

Join in and have fun

Remember that this is your community. Each and every person on YouTube makes the site what it is, so don't be afraid to dig in and get involved.

There's a lot to see here, with lots of folks creating amazing stuff—one of them might be you! Equipment is getting cheaper and easier to use all the time, so dive in and enjoy.

Let folks know what you think. Feedback is part of the experience, and when done with respect, it can be a great way to make friends, share stories, and make your time on YouTube richer. So leave comments, rate videos, make your own responses to videos that affect you, enter contests of interest—there's a lot going on and a lot of ways to participate.
But most of all, have fun with the site! We hope you'll find something new to love as you get to know the community.

— The YouTube Team