YouTube's 3-strike policy: How to appeal and avoid penalties
What's the story
YouTube follows a three-strike policy to keep its community standards intact and comply with copyright laws.
The rule applies to copyright as well as community guideline violations. Multiple violations can have dire consequences for creators on the platform.
The video-sharing site requires users to upload only their own or licensed content, which is a key part of YouTube's ecosystem.
Strike breakdown
Understanding YouTube's 3-strike system
YouTube's three-strike policy works on a rolling 90-day basis.
The first strike leads to a one-week suspension of uploading, live streaming, and some features for creators. This strike stays on the channel for 90 days.
A second strike in this period doubles the restrictions to two weeks, while a third one leads to permanent termination of the channel and removal of all content, while also affecting associated channels.
Deleting the offending content doesn't remove the strike itself from the channel.
Strike types
Types of strikes and their implications
There are two kinds of strikes under YouTube's policy: copyright and community guidelines strikes.
A copyright strike is issued when a creator uses copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder, resulting in content removal and a strike on the channel.
Community guidelines strikes are issued for violating YouTube's policies by posting harmful, misleading, or inappropriate content. The first violation usually gets a warning; others, harsher penalties.
Aftermath
What happens after a strike is issued?
Upon receiving a strike, creators are notified via email (and mobile or desktop notifications if enabled) about the content taken down, the policy it violated, and the impact on their channel.
The notification also provides guidance on next steps and potential appeal.
If a creator believes that they have been unfairly penalized with a strike, there are several ways to challenge or resolve it.
Resolution process
How to challenge or resolve a strike?
Creators can appeal both copyright and community guidelines strikes directly through YouTube Studio. If the appeal is successful, the strike and restrictions are lifted.
For copyright strikes, if your content was removed due to a claim and you believe it qualifies as fair use or was taken down by mistake, you can file a legal counter-notification requesting YouTube to reinstate the content.
Alternatively, you can also contact the copyright holder for retraction of their claim if you believe you're innocent.