I need advice in handling a very problematic situation with Google's system

[Myronaz123]

Hi... I'm new here, and while I am not sure this is the right place to post this, I'm desperate and try visiting/posting all sorts of websites in order to solve this difficult problem.

I don't want to bug you with details, so I'll give you the bottom line: My friend has a YouTube channel. He wants to delete the videos on it, but he can't, because the account has been permanently disabled for 'policy violations'.

Your first thought will be: If a Google account is perma-disabled, then the associated YouTube channel will be terminated. Well, normally, YES! But my friend's case is not normal, his channel has been labelled with a crossed out user icon and that was that. There is absolutely no way to access it, no matter whether you are the owner or not. So, in this situation, what do you do? There is no way to speak to a human at Google, and a system can't identify its own flaws (obviously) otherwise there'd be no need for administrators and designers!

He has been fighting this for months; there is no help. None. If he uses the appeals form, he just gets a generic email explaining that his account is irrecoverable due to policy violations. Nobody is willing to help. The only help we found was in the community forum, where a Gold Expert told us that his channel is 'stuck in a deletion process' and that he would escalate the issue to get it solved, but nothing. The post I made got locked, I made another one, but they blamed me for trying to make redundant efforts (understandable, but what else was I supposed to do!) until I solved the misunderstanding and waited more, to no avail. It's been four months, and nothing.

There is no help.

If anyone could possibly know a way to handle this, please let me know! It can't be right that my friend lost control over his own content.

 

[MyLumoLife]

When was the channel permanently disabled? Can the videos still be searched and viewed by the public?

 

[Myronaz123]

Well, that's the thing — We want the channel permanently disabled because it still is viewable, searchable, and everything else, but we can't since the Google account itself has been permanently disabled! The Google account was suspended on 2016 (I have the exact date as well since my friend has an email of it) but here is the thing, the account itself was originally disabled because of suspicious activity but we couldn't recover it since his email was subsequently lost (coincidence?). Though he managed to get it back, and unlike the disabled for suspicious activity email, he has none that state his account being disabled for policy violations. So I mean, this is just strange. In fact, even now when he tries to log in, it STILL says that his account was disabled for suspicious activity and he must use the recovery page to reactivate it, but the reactivation page just asks a couple of questions and ends up rejecting him for policy violations. I'm not sure if that's normal.

Here is his channel, this icon alone convinced a Gold Expert at the YT Help Community to escalate his issue, but he ended up nowhere because the thread (our point of communication) kept being locked up, so to this day, I still have no idea if that escalation is still going somewhere (It's been around two and a half months now) so I do think that the thread I made, although promising at first, ended up being a dead end. Which is why we feel so helpless; we just can't speak to anyone about this!



In case you are wondering, yes, he also tried the Twitter support but those guys just gave him a generic answer that merely shows how these guys just looked at his Tweet and gave the most generic answer to a non at all generic issue.


So, I mean, this is a super complicated situation. We don't know what to do, and with zero communication, it feels hopeless.

 

[MyLumoLife]

If your friend legally owns the videos, then as a final resort, they can hire a lawyer to send YouTube a takedown notice.

 

[Myronaz123]

I mean, he is the one who uploaded them. I guess the real question is, what happens when you upload a video on YouTube? Does the uploader become the copyright holder? Or are the terms of use make that YouTube itself? I actually mentioned this to a Gold Expert, and he only really said that this would be successful if the lawyer understands the situation we are in and is able to get it across onto Google's legal team. This is scary because if it turns out to be complicated, my friend could end up paying the lawyer alot so this really isn't favourable. Then again, there doesn't seem to be another option. I'll have to ask a lawyer subreddit or something for that one.

This is so stupid either way. Thank you.

 

[MyLumoLife]

Does the uploader become the copyright holder?

No, it doesn't. Just because I upload a copy of Avengers Endgame does not mean that I own the copyright to it. Marvel Studios owns the copyright and their lawyers can send YouTube a takedown notice for copyright infringement.

The Gold Expert is right - your friend needs to get in touch with a lawyer who specializes in these types of matters.

A channel permanently disabled for policy violations should not searchable or viewable, from my understanding. If a technical glitch is preventing the channel and video deletion, that will be a long and drawn out problem that requires frequent communication between your friend/his lawyer and YouTube.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Myronaz123]

No, it doesn't. Just because I upload a copy of Avengers Endgame does not mean that I own the copyright to it.

No, of course not. We are talking about vlog-type videos, where his face is all over them. That outta be easier to do, right?

A channel permanently disabled for policy violations should not searchable or viewable, from my understanding. If a technical glitch is preventing the channel and video deletion, that will be a long and drawn out problem that requires frequent communication between your friend/his lawyer and YouTube.

Yeah well, I wish we had communication! The only reason we consider a lawyer is because it is one way to get communication with a human instead of a bot.

 

[GoetzSaCebu]

Onlyway is to get a lawyer and fine YouTube for not acting fast - make the case 1 billion dollar so it gets viral in the news and you and your friend get a nice compensation too.

 

[Myronaz123]

Onlyway is to get a lawyer and fine YouTube for not acting fast - make the case 1 billion dollar so it gets viral in the news and you and your friend get a nice compensation too.

Something tells me that this is a horrible idea because 'suing' might be a much longer route (and henceforth more expensive) than sending a takedown notice or something similar. I'm really not familiar with law and the legal system so I'm really just guessing here.

 

[Tito Tims Videos]

If it were my channel, I doubt I would worry about it. Who cares if the vids are deleted?

But it does sound like something Google should be able to handle easily, if you can get in touch with a human. Not sure how feasible that is...