YouTube Doesn’t Give Basic U.S. Rights to Content Partners

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Beware you could be next. I always thought Google and YouTube would handle things in a fair manner. The fact is that if ANYONE files a community guidelines complaint, YouTube can shut you down without any appeals process. 3DGuy posts reviews and 3D content, or at least we used to.

 

A YouTube certified Content Partner with over 3 million views and almost 2000 subscribers, they have shut us down with no recourse. Someone complained about a movie trailer review by “3DGuy Entertainment News”for the 3D movie Kamasutra 3D. While this video is playing on at channels all over YouTube, someone complained about it on ExploreworldTV’s channel. Although we have been trying to appeal the decision, someone else filed a complaint about “3DGuy Entertainment News” movie review and trailer for “The Hobbit 3D Blu-ray”. Yes, my friends, “The Hobbit 3D Blu-ray”. Please understand, the trailers are provided to me with permission of the studios. Many of the studios send me the Blu-rays to review them. They are not pirated and not illegal. Both of these same trailers are still playing right now on multiple channels on YouTube. In America we pride ourselves on having rights, but it would seem YouTube considers themselves above all that.

 

I CAN’t even confront my accuser or know what was even said in the complaint. Has YouTube become the Kim Jong-un of the internet? Has YouTube set themselves above the rights of US citizens? I don’t know, that is for you to decide. I will not judge.

 

Simply, I will lay out the facts. Are they dealing unfairly with the very people that helped create them? Has YouTube abandoned the very principles that the 3 founders, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created it for? The story in Wikipedia, “Karim said that the inspiration for YouTube came from Janet Jackson’s role in the 2004 Super Bowl incident, when her breast was exposed during her performance,…” So that very video that Mr. Karim wanted to see, had he posted it today on YouTube, could get his account terminated!

 

This should stand as a warning to all content providers, beware, your competitors could use this to shut you down too. And YouTube is there to help them.

 

Here is the “friendly” email that they sent.

 

Hi Al Caudullo,

Thanks for your email. Your “Al Caudullo” account has been found to have violated our Community Guidelines. Your account has now been terminated. Please be aware that you are prohibited from accessing, possessing or creating any other YouTube accounts. Penalty 1: “” formerly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqQR4alFB4 Removed for violating our Terms of Use on 04/26/2013. Please see http://www.youtube.com/t/terms and http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines Penalty 2: “3D Entertainment News: The Hobbit 3D Bluray Trailer” formerly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ascxhvW2RDo Removed for violating our Terms of Use on 01/06/2014. Please see http://www.youtube.com/t/terms and http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube staff review flagged videos 24 hours a day, seven days a week to determine whether they violate our Community Guidelines. When a video or account is brought to our attention we investigate and take action if necessary. We are unable to provide specific detail regarding your account suspension or your video’s removal. For more information on our what we consider inappropriate content or conduct while using YouTube, please visit our Community Guidelines and Tips at http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines and our Help Center article at http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=92486.

Sincerely,

The YouTube Team

 

The only recourse we have left is YOU , you know the “You” part of YouTube. Complain, loud and long and don’t stop till they turn us back on. You might just be protecting yourself too!

 

6 thoughts on “YouTube Doesn’t Give Basic U.S. Rights to Content Partners

  1. You’re not the only one. Skip YT, put the 3D streams directly on your site or a 3D portal powered by us. Drop me an email and let’s talk.

  2. Stereoscopic 3D is normal human vision. People who are against this in deference to distorted 2D are free to berate it all the time, in just about any forum. Yet, as soon as someone tries to defend it, they are shut down. This is not only extremely unfair, but a character assassination, as it casts aspersions on your honorable character. As such, there should be a legal recourse under the area of defamation of character, and probably other areas as well. I have not seen any evidence on the YouTube site that they are supporting their obviously false accusations with any citations of any form. I am sure that you can get many, many people who would defend you and your basic rights in this issue. Worth investigating.

  3. I have a rights holder email me, horrified that someone had made a claim against one of the CC-BY audio clips. Apparently, he had also shared the clip on a site and the T & Cs gave the site operators to assert copyright on his behalf….and they did. My clip on YouTube was flagged as violating copyright. I deleted it and sent the author an email asking why he had made a claim against his CC-BY content…..and he was horrified. He wants his content to be free to all as long as they attribute it.

  4. But where to complain is the question. This issue of account termination is not new, but it seems the only real recourse is if YT’s terms somehow violate US law or they are not enforced as per their own terms. That might give you the basis for something like a restraint of trade lawsuit.

    The only other option would be to go rogue with a new account (which YT says you can’t do) and repost. That and flag their corporate partners’ videos in retaliation (like a DNS attack). What could YT do, cancel your account again? You would almost want them to take you to court to make this more public.

  5. I am sorry Al. I am also surprised because youtube is a place where people are always rude and crude so it is hard to believe that you were that offensive to be shut down. I had to think for a second if it wasnt another one of your April fool”s joke!

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