YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google has erroneously banned accounts and removed channels worldwide. Now, the platform is working on reinstating them.
What Happened: On Thursday, YouTube said it is aware of the mistakenly removed channels and banned accounts for policy breaches.
The platform is “actively working on reinstating the channels” and restoring access to paid services like YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Music subscriptions.
Hi Creators – We’re aware of an issue causing some channels to be incorrectly flagged for Spam and removed. Our teams are looking into this and reinstating the channels right now – thanks so much for your patience.
More information: https://t.co/xQ9AFg0woc
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) October 3, 2024
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Users affected by this glitch have lost access to their YouTube accounts, preventing them from watching videos or listening to YouTube Music. YouTube Premium subscribers have also been impacted, with playlists and other saved content currently inaccessible for some.
Users across the globe, including in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, were informed of the account ban or channel removal through emails from YouTube.
Did @YouTube just ban all of its users?
I had a decade old account that only had unheard music demos on it. And there’s a bunch of posts on X that are similar.
— Lofi Jason (@JasonRumley_) October 3, 2024
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YouTube has provided an appeal process for affected users, and several reports indicate that this has been successful in restoring account access. However, some users have reported that their playlists are still missing post-restoration.
Update: They restored my deleted YouTube channel but I am still waiting an explanation on what happened. Apparently I’m not the only one, so it’s pretty scary how sudden and quickly your account and channel can be taken down and deleted without warning.
I’m really concerned… pic.twitter.com/7nSjaeqU5v
— Hey Hedgehog! 🦔 (@Hey_Hedgehog) October 3, 2024
Tonight I received a mail from Youtube saying that my youtube channel was completely deleted because of the serious or repeated violations of the policies about spam, deceptive practices, and fraud policies.
Then after 30 minutes they contacted me again apologizing 😅 WHAT?
— Annie Cyborg (アニー・サイボーグ) (@anniecyborg) October 3, 2024
Why It Matters: This glitch comes on the heels of a series of controversial decisions by YouTube.
Last month, YouTube introduced “Pause ads,” a feature that displays advertisements even when a video is paused, leading to users’ discontent.
Later that month, YouTube also restricted access to songs by renowned artists such as Adele, Bob Dylan, and Green Day in the U.S. due to a legal dispute with the performing rights organization, SESAC.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Apple Inc. removed Juno, an unofficial YouTube app designed for Vision Pro, from its App Store following a warning from Google.
Photo by Sky Motion on Shutterstock
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