Fair use is a continuous problem on YouTube that’s been starting to build up due to the rise in popularity from commentary channels such as Leafyishere, Pyrocynical, H3H3 and Colossal is Crazy. Commentary channels use a style of video making where they will use someone else’s video as the topic of theirs and the commentator will give their opinion on them. These commentary channels have recently overthrown the previous king of entertainment on Youtube, prank channels, by commentating on and exposing them. However, the big question is, are they just stealing other people’s work and leaching off of it or is this just creative, original content?

This question has been asked and disputed multiple times. The most common result occurs when a  YouTuber calls copyright infringement when their content is used by one of these commentary channels. Then all monetary features if not disabled are given to the other channel until the case is looked in to. This is also another part of YouTube’s system that is extremely wrong and needs changing that everyone is guilty until proven innocent. The worst part of this is that the system is easily abused to remove monetization from the video or even receive it for themselves or even in the worst cases, remove the video entirely and by almost anyone. To YouTubers who rely on YouTube as their full time job, this can be completely and totally detrimental.
Although there has been no sign of change from YouTube, there have been groups designed to help out content creators everywhere such as the Fair Use Protection Association or F.U.P.A. and even respected lawyers such as Ryan Morrison or Michael Lee. These groups and individuals are there to help even the poorest of YouTubers with Ryan Morrison working for free on some cases and F.U.P.A. providing financial aide. These people are doing amazing work helping YouTubers with this situation but to have any permanent solution to this colossal problem is to have a change of YouTube’s terms of service. YouTube should give the defendant a chance to defend themselves instead of automatically being assumed that they’re guilty.