What Is Social Media Monetization Governance?
Published: 24 April 2025
Monetization governance refers to the way platforms moderate who and what gets paid through their monetization services.
Monetization Terms and Policies
Social media platforms have terms and policies which outline their rules for monetization.
Monetization Terms
Monetization terms are the legal basis of the relationship between platforms and their monetizing partners (that is, the social media users that have opted and been approved to use their monetization services).
Payout Terms
Payout terms are the legal basis of the relationship between platforms’ payment processor and their monetizing partners. Some platforms operate their own, in-house payment processing, while others use third-party companies, such as Paypal or Stripe.
Partner Monetization Policies
Partner monetization policies specify which actors are not eligible for monetization on a given platform. Some platforms, for example, may prohibit political actors or employees of the platform from monetizing.
Content Monetization Policies
Content monetization policies, sometimes referred to as “advertiser-friendly guidelines”, specify the kinds of content that are not eligible for monetization. Most platforms, for example, prohibit the monetization of reused and unoriginal content as well as content that otherwise violate their community guidelines.
Specific Monetization Service Requirements
Each monetization service is further subject to its own set of requirements. These specify the type of eligible content, the applicable fee and payout structure, as well as minimum eligibility requirements. Eligibility is typically determined based on an account’s follower count, level of activity and engagement. It may also include requirements around the location of the account admin(s) and language of the content.
Monetization Enforcement
To enforce their monetization terms and policies, social media platforms employ a diversity of enforcement systems and processes.
Platforms offer very little transparency around their monetization enforcement, including their effectiveness, and the extent to which these processes are automated.
Nonetheless, enforcement processes typically cover the following aspects:
Account Eligibility Checks
Processes to assess an account’s compliance with a given service’s eligibility requirements.
Onboarding Reviews
Processes to confirm the eligibility of users who applied for access to a monetization service.
Payout Account Reviews
Processes to review a partner's bank account, tax status, and legal compliance.
Content Eligibility Checks
Processes to review the monetization eligibility of individual pieces of content.
Monetization Restrictions
Processes to apply monetization restrictions - at a content, account, or payout account level.
Monetization Appeals
Processes to receive and process appeals on monetization restrictions.
Advertiser & Publisher controls
Controls offered to advertisers (and occasionally publishers) to convey their expectations over which actors and content may be associated with their brand.
Third party verification tools
Third party tools, designed to support advertisers with filtering out actors and content which do not meet their brand safety and suitability expectations.
Certifications
There are a few industry-backed certifications which platforms can apply for, including:
Media Rating Council (MRC)
Professional accreditation, based on an audit of the platform’s compliance with the Guidelines on Enhanced Content Level Context and Brand Safety.
Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG)
Certification of compliance with the TAG Brand Safety Certified Guidelines.
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