YouTube has announced a significant shift in policy, introducing a “pilot” program that will allow creators whose channels were previously terminated for rule violations to request new accounts.
“We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance—YouTube has evolved and changed over the past 20 years, and we’ve had our share of second chances to get things right with our community too,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the change.
This policy reversal follows an investigation into platforms’ content moderation practices. The move comes after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) subpoenaed YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, to probe potential “coercion or collusion” between the Biden-Harris administration and tech companies regarding content censorship.
In a recent letter to Rep. Jordan, Alphabet’s legal counsel, Daniel F. Donovan, explicitly outlined that the company would welcome back some banned creators, specifically mentioning policies that are no longer active.
“Reflecting the Company’s commitment to free expression, YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the Company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect,” the letter stated. The company also acknowledged the importance of conservative voices, noting that they “have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse.”
During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter implemented strict rules to curb the spread of medical misinformation and false claims about the virus and vaccines. Furthermore, these platforms took action against accounts deemed to incite violence, particularly following the January 6 riots, including the suspension of President Donald Trump’s account.
While these specific misinformation and integrity policies have since been discontinued, creators banned under them have remained unable to upload content.
Who is Eligible?
The new policy includes several conditions for potential reinstatement:
- Wait Time: Creators must wait one year after their channel was terminated before they are eligible to apply for a new channel. They can still appeal their original termination during that period.
- Starting Over: If a creator is reinstated, they will start from scratch with a new account; they will not regain access to their old channel. However, they can reapply to the YouTube Partner Program once they meet the eligibility requirements.
- Exclusions: Creators banned for severe or persistent violations, such as those that endanger kids’ safety, or those who were terminated for copyright infringement are not eligible for the ‘second chance’ pilot.
YouTube confirmed it will consider various factors when evaluating requests, including the severity and persistence of past violations and whether the creator’s activities could continue to harm the community.