YouTube opens ‘second chance’ program to creators banned for misinformation

YouTube is now giving some creators who were banned for spreading misinformation about Covid and the election a chance to start a new channel, according to a blog post. Under political pressure, the company announced last month that it would set up this pilot program for “a subset of creators” and “channels removed due to outdated policies”. YouTube said in a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), whose congressional committee has issued several subpoenas to the company, that this opportunity would be available to creators banned for “repeated violations of COVID-19 and election integrity policies that are no longer in effect.”

“YouTube continues to allow for a diversity of perspectives and believes that creators should be able to openly discuss political ideas on the platform,” the company said in its letter to the Jordanian representative.

Last month, YouTube also announced it would pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump in 2021 over the ban. $22 million of the settlement is expected to be used to help build a new ballroom at the White House. Its parent company, Alphabet, appeared in court earlier this month to defend its Google ad technology monopoly against the Trump Justice Department.

The new pilot program starts today and will roll out to “eligible creators” over the “coming weeks,” YouTube says. “We will consider several factors when evaluating requests for new channels, such as whether the creator has committed particularly serious or persistent violations of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, or whether the creator’s on- or off-platform activity has harmed or may continue to harm the YouTube community.”

The driver won’t be available if you’ve been banned for copyright infringement or violating YouTube’s creator liability policies, the company says. If you deleted your YouTube channel or Google account, you won’t be able to request a new channel “yet.” And YouTube notes that if your channel has been banned, you won’t be able to request a new one until a year after it was terminated.

“We know that many laid-off creators deserve a second chance. YouTube has evolved and changed over the past 20 years, and we’ve also had our share of second chances to make things right with our community,” YouTube says. “Our goal is to roll out this feature to eligible creators over the coming months, and we appreciate your patience as we ramp up, carefully review requests, and learn as we go.”