YouTube is rolling out a “second chance” program to allow previously banned creators to apply for new channels, the company announced Thursday.
“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.
Creators who have been banned for at least a year will be able to apply for a new channel. In evaluating applications, YouTube said it would consider whether users have “committed particularly severe or persistent violations” of its rules, as well as whether their activity on or off the site resulted in harm.
Those who have violated copyright rules or the platform’s “creator responsibility” policies are not eligible for new channels.
YouTube hinted at the program in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) late last month, saying it would provide an opportunity for creators to rejoin the platform if they were terminated for violations of its COVID-19 and election policies that are no longer in effect.
In the letter, Alphabet — YouTube and Google’s parent company — accused the Biden administration of pressuring the platform to remove “non-violative” content related to the pandemic.
“Senior Biden Administration officials, including White House officials, conducted repeated and sustained outreach to Alphabet and pressed the Company regarding certain user-generated content related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate its policies,” the letter read.
The company criticized the previous administration’s actions as “unacceptable and wrong.” It suggested it has “transparently evolved” YouTube’s policies over time, noting it has since retired all COVID-19 specific policies.
