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YouTube is letting some previously banned users return. That means you may see videos that violated old rules

<i>Serene Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>YouTube will allow some previously banned users to create new accounts to post on the site.
<i>Serene Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>YouTube will allow some previously banned users to create new accounts to post on the site.

By Clare Duffy, CNN

New York (CNN) — YouTube on Thursday will begin offering previously banned users the opportunity to create new accounts and potentially re-publish some videos that may have contributed to their termination but no longer violate YouTube’s rules.

YouTube last month announced the plan to allow previously banned users and their content back on the video platform. The move was announced following an investigation by Republican lawmakers into whether the Biden administration pressured tech companies to remove certain types of content.

YouTube said that over the past couple of years, it did away with rules that had prohibited users from repeatedly posting misinformation about Covid-19 and the 2020 US election outcome. Now, users terminated for breaking those rules have the chance to return.

“We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance – YouTube has evolved and changed over the past 20 years, and we’ve had our share of second chances to get things right with our community too,” the company said in a blog post Thursday. “We appreciate the patience as we ramp up, carefully review requests, and learn as we go.”

The decision to permit banned users to rejoin the platform is the latest example of how YouTube — like other tech platforms — has loosened its content moderation efforts in recent years, a trend that has accelerated across Silicon Valley this year amid pressure from conservatives.

Here’s what we know about the effort.

How will this work?

Some previously banned users will see the option to request a new account when they sign into their old pages starting on Thursday. The option won’t be available to everyone right away; a YouTube spokesperson said the platform wants to make sure wait times aren’t too long as it reviews each request. Users won’t have the option until one year after their original channel was terminated.

Requests will be reviewed based on considerations such as whether the user’s rules violations were “severe and persistent,” YouTube said in its Thursday post. Think, for example, whether they previously tried to circumvent YouTube’s rules by attempting to create a new account while on a temporary suspension, the spokesperson said. YouTube will also consider a user’s behavior on third-party platforms to gauge whether they could “continue to harm the YouTube community.”

“This pilot won’t be available to creators terminated for copyright infringement, those who have violated our Creator Responsibility policies, or those who deleted their YouTube channel/Google account,” YouTube said in its blog post.

It’s not clear how long the review process will take, but a YouTube spokesperson said users will receive an email with their results.

What happens once they’re approved?

Users who are approved won’t be able to fire up their old channels with their original followers lists. They’ll have to start fresh.

However, users will be able to re-upload content from their old accounts so long as it follows YouTube’s current rules. And because YouTube’s Community Guidelines have changed, videos that might have contributed to a user’s previous banning — for example, with false claims about Covid-19 or the 2020 election — may now be permitted.

Like any other user, these reinstated creators will have the chance to apply to YouTube’s Partner Program to earn money from their channel once it meets the program’s guidelines. And rules enforcement will start fresh, too — they’ll be subject to the same three-strike policy as any new user, according to the spokesperson.

Why is YouTube doing this?

YouTube’s spokesperson said the change aligns with a broader push to ensure users fully understand the rules before they’re booted from the platform. In its letter announcing the change earlier this month, YouTube said the move reflects its “commitment to free expression.”

“YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse,” states the letter, which was sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan.

The language echoes statements made by other tech platforms this year as many have altered their policies to align more closely with the views of President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in January that his company was “going back to our roots around free expression” by ending partnerships with third-party fact checkers.

Some of Youtube’s now-defunct guidelines had led to enforcement against prominent figures. For example, an account belonging to Children’s Health Defense Fund, a group affiliated with now-Health and Human Services Secretary and longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was removed for posting vaccine misinformation in 2021. The same year, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s account was temporarily suspended for posting about dubious Covid-19 treatments.

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