YouTube: Creators will soon get @name handles [YouTube announced it would bring monetization to Shorts, letting creators keep 45 percent of the ad revenue]

 

All YouTube users will soon have an account handle — but some will get to pick theirs earlier

 

All YouTube accounts will soon have a unique handle to use across channels and Shorts. It’s a departure for the platform, affecting major creators and casual viewers alike.

By MIA SATO

Oct 10, 2022, 9:00 AM MST|

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

"All YouTube users will soon get a new way of identifying themselves. The company announced today that @name handles will be used across the platform, a convention that’s common elsewhere on the internet but a departure for YouTube.

Every YouTube user will have a unique handle that applies across the platform, from channel pages to Shorts, YouTube’s TikTok competitor. Users can use a handle to mention others in comments, video descriptions, titles, and more, which YouTube says will make it easier for creators to reach audiences and increase visibility.

“We want to ensure creators can craft an identity as unique as their content, while giving viewers the confidence that they are interacting with their favorite creators,” YouTube says in its blog. Creators will still have a channel name, but handles will be unique, potentially cutting down on impersonator accounts.

Handles will appear across YouTube surfaces, including Shorts.

 Image: YouTube

YouTube will be rolling out handles gradually starting this week by notifying users when it’s their turn to pick a handle, meaning some people will get to claim theirs before others. If a user has already created a personalized URL for their channel, that will be their default handle (they’ll have the option to change it once it’s their turn).

YouTube says it will roll out notifications based on factors like overall presence on the platform, subscriber count, and whether the channel is active. Claiming a handle could also be the push needed for creators who aren’t on YouTube to join the platform or tend to their account — users typically need 100 or more subscribers to create a custom URL (a notice says choosing, modifying, and deleting URLs is currently on pause).

YouTube will notify creators when it’s their turn to claim their handle.

 Image: YouTube

The addition of handles brings YouTube further in line with TikTok just as the company doubles down on its investment into Shorts. Last month, YouTube announced it would bring monetization to Shorts, letting creators keep 45 percent of the ad revenue. It’s also added updates like watermarks to Shorts reposted elsewhere and tools to use longer videos in short-form clips over the last few months as it takes on TikTok."

UNJUSTIFIED INTRUSION

 

Subjecting workers to webcam monitoring violates privacy, Dutch court rules

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A company has been ordered to pay tens of thousands in compensation after firing an employee who refused to leave their webcam on

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

By JON PORTER / @jonporty

Oct 10, 2022, 5:25 AM MST|

"A Florida-headquartered company has been ordered to pay about €75,000 (around $73,000) in compensation and other fees after firing a Netherlands-based remote worker who refused to keep their webcam on all day, NL Times reports. The company, Chetu, said the unnamed employee was required to attend a virtual classroom with their webcam turned on for the entire day and their screen remotely monitored.

But when the employee refused, saying that leaving their webcam on for “9 hours a day” made them feel uncomfortable and was an invasion of their privacy, the company dismissed them, citing “refusal to work” and “insubordination.” 

The court ruled that the reasons for dismissal were not valid

In a decision published last week, the court ruled that these were not sufficient reasons to dismiss the employee. “There has been no evidence of a refusal to work,” the court’s decision reads (via Google Translate). It added that “instruction to leave the camera on is contrary to the employee’s right to respect for his private life” and that the dismissal was not legally valid. 

Specifically, the court cites Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which grants citizens the “right to respect for private and family life.” Chetu argued that requiring an employee to leave their webcam on would be no different from management being able to see them while they’re working in a traditional office. But the court noted that “strict conditions are attached to observing employees,” and that asking an employee to leave their camera on in this case was an unjustified intrusion.

The court has ordered Chetu to pay its former employee a substantial sum in damages, NLTimes reports. This includes compensation of €50,000 (around $48,000), roughly €2,700 (around $2,600) in unpaid salary, and over €8,000 (around $7,750) for wrongful termination. The company also needs to pay the employee for their unused vacation days.

As TechCrunch notes, firing an employee for not turning their webcam on may be more palatable in an “at-will” jurisdiction like Florida, but it seems employees under the jurisdiction of the ECHR have a lot more protections.

A spokesperson for Chetu did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment."