Linus Tech Tips responds to YouTube controversy following anti-Google video takedown

Linus Tech Tips has caught itself in another controversy, but this time, it doesn't have to do with poor quality videos, but instead, its videos perhaps being a little "too" good.

LTT has decided to go after the owner of the platform it posts its videos on, Google, with a series that has seemingly ruffled some of the company's feathers as it informs viewers how they can move away from Google-related products/services. The first episode of the series was posted on May 23, 2024, and is titled "De-Google Your Life". It provides viewers with information on how to move away from Google Chrome and its related services.

The second part in the series was published on August 20, 2024, and was removed from YouTube for violating the platform's "community guidelines". Within this video the LTT team showcased how a user could transition away from using Google's password manager, Google Maps, and even interact with the platform without interfacing with YouTube directly, including by downloading videos.

LTT has since responded to the second episode of its series being removed with another video explaining what has happened and why YouTube removed the video, with the crux of the problem being the second episode was found to be "harmful or dangerous content". Content labeled like this has violated YouTube's terms of service or encourages other users to do so. The content within the second episode of the LTT series informed users how to circumvent YouTube's interface and, therefore, its monetization strategy.

Linus specifically says the video was removed because "for several of its 23-minute runtime, we discussed a number of ways of accessing all of the content on YouTube without interfacing with YouTube directly, including by downloading videos."

LTT partnered with dbrand for the YouTube video and wrote the following in the YouTube description, "Use code fuckyoutube for 10% off all dbrand products."