A crypto-focused channel called Bankless which boasts 150k subscribers found itself ‘terminated’ from the platform without any prior notice. In the tweet, Bankless felt that it was being targeted solely for being a crypto channel and expressed displeasure over the sudden ban after dedicating 10,000+ hours of content.
The channel’s other collaborative Web3 crypto accounts- Gabriel Haines.eth and the Optimism Collective, have also been shut down.
Within a few hours of the ban, YouTube confirmed via Twitter that it has restored the channel and was looking into the other affected channels before apologizing for the ordeal.
Still, many Twitter aficionados were unsatisfied with the response. While a few appreciated Youtube’s quick reaction, others criticized the platform demanding an explanation as to why the channels were removed in the first place.
One user called for more transparency with regards to “incorrect bans and such unwarranted censorship”.
Another posted, “This should not have happened TeamYouTube. It’s going to be very difficult for any creator to trust y’all after this. A real shame.”
This isn’t the first time that the social media site has faced public ire over inexplicable bans. On many occasions, it has shut down channels in the past only to be reinstated later without providing any justification.
Crypto channels bearing the brunt of Youtube’s unwarranted clampdown
In 2019, YouTube began its spree of deleting cryptocurrency-related content from some of the biggest influencers in the industry.
One of them was YouTuber Chris Dunn having over 210,000 subscribers was one day notified that the platform had removed all of his videos that mentioned cryptocurrencies.
Things got further heated when in April 2020, Jason Appleton [AKA prominent influencer Crypto Crow] took to Twitter to say his channel had been deleted.
After receiving massive backlash, YouTube quickly restored his account. As usual, the platform did not offer any confirmation concerning what led to his account’s termination.
Prior to that, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also voiced his outrage against YouTube. But for a different reason.
He had a fake account that was brought to his notice posing as him. This led him to tweet, “Enough is Enough.” Garlinghouse then called out to the social media giants individually urging them to act against scammers and fake accounts.