The Story of My How I Got My Banned YouTube Channel Back

In 2015, my ex and I created a gaming YouTube channel. It wasn’t anything special and gained little traction, but I kept the channel going after we’d broken up. I didn’t think he would log into the account, so I didn’t bother to change the password. This was a huge mistake on my part because I was banned a few months later for wrongful use of the Copywrite strike system.

I was devastated since the channel had helped me to take my mind off the breakup. I scoured my email until I found a group of emails explaining why I had gotten banned and what I should do to regain my account. I ended up filing an appeal to get my channel back. The appeal process was full of disclaimers informing me I’d only be given one chance to appeal, and they would ignore all future requests. I did my best to plead my case, but the person who looked over my appeal didn’t care about my case. He simply left me a response saying that he was going to uphold the appeal. He didn’t say why or anything else other than that, which leads me to believe there are lots of users who have been unfairly banned.

I didn’t know what else to do, so I spammed both YouTube and their owner, Google, on Twitter. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from them, but it took a day and a half before they replied. The only thing they told me was that I should file an appeal, and they sent me the link to do so. I filed another appeal, but this one got no response. I knew they were a large company, but they frustrated me with the way they were treating my issue. It was as if the only people YouTube cared about were the ones with bigger channels (I still believe this to be the case).

Most people would have given up at that point. My channel was small, with only about 89 subscribers, but I’d been using it to combat depression. I took it a step further and reach out to the better business bureau. I sent them an email asking them to investigate what happened. Half of my account ended up being restored, which met that I could watch videos, but I couldn’t upload them unless I did so through Twitch. I accepted this small win for a while and enjoyed the parts of my YouTube channel I could access, but I also made a second channel so that I could go back to uploading. I uploaded little because my relationship with YouTube had gone sour, which caused me to lose interest in something I’d once loved.

So how and why did I get my channel back?

To be honest, I’d given up on YouTube. Anyone can see that from the most recent videos I’ve published. I had no intentions of going back or ever uploading again. I was content to let the channel fade into obscurity until I realized YouTube was going to be the new home for the movies and tv shows I’d purchased on Google Play. I wasn’t okay with losing the money I’d paid for these movies and tv shows so I tried again.

I reached out to them on Twitter (once), but I didn’t wait for them to reply. I went straight to the Better Business Bureau and sent filled out a complaint form. Many people pointed out that there are multiple listings for Google. The one I selected was Google LLC. I explained my situation in the complaint and waited patiently for someone to get back to me. Someone from Twitter reached out first. Unsurprisingly, they offered no help and told me to go bother the people in charge of Google Play.

About a day later, I received a message from the Better Business Bureau. I’d gotten a response from Google, but it wasn’t the response that I wanted. They had barely glanced over my detailed message, as they simply said to file an appeal and wait patiently. The Better Business Bureau asked me to select whether I accepted this response, so I selected no and told them that Google had done nothing to help me, and I asked for either a refund or access to my account. A day later I received an email from Google telling me my account was fully restored and that it was a mistake to ban it.

While this method worked for me, it may not work for others. I fully believe that part of the reason I was unbanned was that I was asking for a refund and they’d rather keep my money.

Originally Published On Medium

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