YouTube recently faced criticism after incorrectly flagging several channels and videos for “Spam & Deceptive Practices,” leading to their removal due to a technical fault or bug. In a recent update, the tech giant announced that it has successfully reinstated all affected channels and most of the videos.
Sharing the development on X (formerly Twitter), the company wrote, “Happy to report that all channels and most videos incorrectly removed have been reinstated and subscriptions are restored (we’re still working on the last few, bear with us!!).”
“We know this caused some disruption, and we so appreciate your patience while we sort this out,” it added.
Recently, YouTube reportedly sent emails to numerous users worldwide, including those in the US, Europe and Asia, informing them of account suspensions due to alleged violations of its “spam, deceptive practices and scams policy.” This action impacted users' access to paid services such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music.
Additionally, the platform noted that some creators might experience missing content, including playlists. Many non-content creators found themselves unable to access their YouTube accounts, listen to YouTube Music, or watch videos, causing significant disruption for users.
This situation underscores the complexities involved in managing content moderation and the challenges users face when automated systems misinterpret account activity.Following this, scores of channels were deleted, however, it was later found that this happened due to a technical glitch. On October 3, YouTube acknowledged the problem and started working on the fix. The company assured users that their teams are “actively working on reinstating the channels” and restoring the accounts.
A day later, YouTube informed the team is working to reinstate all removed channels. “Update: Our teams are continuing to work on reinstating all removed channels and your access to paid subscriptions (YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music). We are very sorry for this error on our part, and we'll follow up here when it’s done,” the company said in a landing page on Google Support.
“If your channel was incorrectly removed and reinstated, you might notice some content, such as playlists, might be missing. Don't worry—this is just a delay, and all your content will soon be restored. Thanks again for your patience in the meantime!” it added.
Reports suggest that without some paid subscriptions, like YouTube Premium, saved content, including playlists, cannot be viewed.
