The YouTube Crackdown: FCC Fines, "Made for Kids," and Surviving the Algorithm (ft. Connor Dunwoodie)

Welcome back to Let's Talk Media! In this episode of the media analysis podcast, host Vedant Akhauri reunites with his longtime friend and fellow creator, Connor Dunwoodie. Having first met in their Florida high school's TV Production program, the two catch up on Connor's journey making vlogs, pranks, and short films for Amazon before diving into the massive, platform-altering policy shifts hitting YouTube creators.In this episode, we discuss:Lying About Your Age & The Data Fiasco: YouTube getting heavily fined in late 2019 for illegally collecting data on users under 13. Vedant and Connor reflect on the universal millennial and Gen Z experience of lying about your age to join platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.The "Made for Kids" Button: A breakdown of how YouTube's new legal policies completely changed the platform's monetization. As a creator, Connor explains how marking a video as "made for kids" instantly strips away targeted ad revenue, comments, and subscriber notifications, deeply impacting massive family channels like Ryan's Toy Reviews and The ACE Family.Parenting vs. The Platform: A debate on who is truly responsible for keeping children safe online. While Connor praises YouTube for finally stepping up to protect younger audiences, they both discuss the necessity of the YouTube Kids app and the ongoing struggle for parents to actively monitor their children's screen time.If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating to be notified of future episodes. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show on Instagram @letstalkmediava.2026 Update: Connor's YouTube is now called Unlimited Connor. He's now the TikTok comedian, Rye from Fells Wargo for The Call Center Series."Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/