YouTube Adds 'Captured with a Camera' Label

Companies like Leica have been embedding content credentials in their hardware since last year, though it’s still unclear if these credentials will automatically trigger YouTube's label. By relying on the C2PA standard, YouTube ensures the label will apply only to footage captured and uploaded with metadata supported by certain devices and software. YouTube’s help page explains that the label “signifies that the creator used specific technology to verify their video’s origin and confirm its audio and visuals haven’t been altered.” For the label to appear, content must be created using C2PA-compatible tools, version 2.1 or higher, which means widespread use of the label may still be a ways off.

In a recent blog post, Laurie Richardson, Google’s VP of trust and safety, highlighted that YouTube is working to increase transparency regarding content origins, particularly in response to AI-generated media. Google spokesperson Elena Hernandez reaffirmed this commitment to transparency.

For a video to qualify for the label, every stage of its creation must maintain C2PA support, ensuring the chain of provenance remains unbroken. According to YouTube’s guidelines, actions that could disrupt this chain include:

• Saving content to a platform or device that doesn’t support C2PA v2.1, which can break its traceable origin.
• Making significant changes to the video’s core visuals or audio.
• Using editing tools incompatible with C2PA’s required standards.

In addition to this label, YouTube introduced an “altered or synthetic content” label earlier in the year. This label requires creators to self-identify videos containing AI-generated content, marking a step toward a more transparent content ecosystem.

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