English poet and satirist Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
The executives at YouTube seem to have been touched by the divine, because now it is offering a path of redemption for some of the most popular content creators in the social media sphere.
Last month, the company admitted to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that the Biden administration pressured Google to censor Americans and remove content that did not violate YouTube’s policies.
YouTube’s most high-profile content creator bans:
- Alex Jones: Banned in August 2018 with 2.4 million subscribers
- Dan Bongino: Banned in January 2022 with 882k subscribers
- Gavin McInnes: Banned in December 2018 with 220k subscribers
- LeafyIsHere: Banned in 2020 with 4.9 million subscribers
While President Donald Trump was out of office, he complained that social media platforms like YouTube were silencing conservative voices. Since he has returned to the White House, YouTube has softened its stance on all censorship.
It recently made a change that should restore some of the most high-profile banned accounts.
Image source: Delta Air Lines
YouTube offers banned content creators a “second chance”
This week, YouTube softened its stance on lifetime bans, noting that over the last four years, it has paid out over $100 billion to content creators, media companies, and performance artists.
“Given the scale of the opportunity, we know that our long-held approach of enforcing lifetime terminations can be difficult for creators,” the company said Thursday. “Starting today, some previously terminated creators will have the opportunity to request a new YouTube channel.”
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YouTube notes that the majority of its appealed ban decisions have been upheld, so after talking to the Republican-led House Committee, it wants to give banned accounts more options to get their accounts back.
Over the coming weeks, eligible channels will start to see an option on their accounts to “request a new channel” when they log into YouTube Studio on a desktop with their previously terminated channel.
But subscribers are gone, so even if a channel had 2 million subscribers when it was banned, it will have to start from scratch.
YouTube details the process for second-chance review of banned channels
YouTube is not changing its community guidelines as part of its second chance program, so any channels being considered will have to adhere to its rules.
But the company will “consider several factors” while it evaluates requests, such as “whether the creator committed particularly severe or persistent violations of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, or whether the creator’s on- or off-platform activity harmed or may continue to harm the YouTube community, like channels that endanger kids’ safety.”
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Channels terminated for copyright infringement strikes and channels that were deleted after the ban won’t be eligible for a second chance.
However, those that pass the test can reapply for monetization through the YouTube Partner Program.
Related: YouTube makes a huge change that’s long overdue
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