There may indeed be second acts in American lives on YouTube — but not everyone who’s been kicked off the platform will be welcomed back.
The video platform on Thursday officially announced its “Second Chance” program. “Starting today, some previously terminated creators will have the opportunity to request a new YouTube channel,” YouTube said in a blog post.
Google last month had disclosed plans for the YouTube reinstatement program, which will let creators back on the platform who were previously banned, including for those who ran afoul of now-retired policies prohibiting misinformation about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and COVID-19.
“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 post said. “Our goal is to roll this out to creators who are eligible to apply over the coming months, and we appreciate the patience as we ramp up, carefully review requests, and learn as we go.”
That said, not every type of channel termination will be eligible. YouTube said the pilot of the reinstatement program won’t be available to creators terminated for copyright infringement. Also not eligible are users “who have violated our Creator Responsibility policies,” which outline prohibited conduct including actions “intending to cause malicious harm to others” or “Participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent or deceptive behavior that leads to real-world harm.”
In addition, creators who deleted their YouTube channel and/or Google account will not be able to see the “request a new channel” option at this time. Also, creators are not eligible to apply for a new channel until one year after their channel was terminated.
According to YouTube, over the next several weeks, eligible creators will begin to see an option to request a new channel when they log into YouTube Studio on desktop with their previously terminated channel. Creators whose requests are accepted will be able to create new channels. “This is a fresh start on YouTube – just like many other platforms, you can build back your community through your new channel. You can also re-upload any of your prior videos that are within our Community Guidelines,” the platform said.
YouTube says it will consider “several factors when evaluating requests for new channels,” 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.”
In addition, YouTube noted that creators have always had the option to appeal a channel termination. “If your appeal is successful, your old channel will be reinstated. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you now have the option to apply for a new channel one year after your channel was terminated,” the blog explained.
YouTube noted that there are now more than 3 million channels in the YouTube Partner Program and that over the past four years alone it has paid out over $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies. “As the heart of the creator economy, YouTube provides an incredible opportunity for creators to build not just an audience but a business,” the platform’s blog post said.