YouTube tests a cleanup option for channels facing spam termination

YouTube is testing a way for channels that have hit the termination threshold over spam violations to avoid losing everything. Instead of immediate termination, eligible channels get a chance to self-correct, edit or remove the violating content.

Under the current spam guidelines, tactics such as manipulating viewers to inflate engagement stats or posting comment spam bring a warning or a strike. Strikes reduce a channel's earning capacity. A channel that collects three strikes within 90 days faces potential termination.

Until now, termination meant the loss of every video and every subscriber the channel had built up. The only recourse was an appeal.

How the 30-day lock works

If a channel is eligible for the experiment, it enters a 30-day locked period. The owner is notified by email and in YouTube Studio on desktop. YouTube describes the restrictions this way: "Certain actions, such as uploading new videos or posting comments, will not be available while your channel is locked."

During the lock, the channel can review its content and edit or delete the videos that break the spam policies. YouTube reviews the changes. "Once violative content is removed and passes review, your channel will be unlocked," the company said.

A second option is more drastic. The channel manager can delete all uploaded videos, which unlocks the channel right away. The channel then keeps its subscribers, its handle and its YouTube Partner Program status. Even when a manual cleanup review is rejected, the manager can still remove every video, as long as the 30-day window has not closed.

A channel that thinks it actually follows the rules can still submit an appeal. "Failing to address the issues within 30 days, or taking no action, will lead to channel termination," YouTube said.

One side effect shows up on the viewer's side. A creator who wipes the library keeps the subscriber base, so people may find a channel in their subscriptions that has nothing to watch. It could be a channel that was cleared to avoid termination rather than abandoned.

The new processes are in early testing.

Source: YouTube Help Community