YouTube has confirmed it's responsible for deleting thousands of accounts and videos that were mistakenly flagged as violations against its terms of service.
9to5Google pointed out that many YouTube account holders reported the loss of access to YouTube content. These reports were quickly followed up by YouTube in a support thread that confirmed bugs were present and they were affecting many aspects of the platform such as access to paid features such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Music.
Additionally, the bugs also affected other YouTube features, such as playlists. Along with the deleted of specific channels these bugs also removed videos from the platform. Reports indicate that affected users were sent unclear instructions by YouTube that ultimately weren't helpful in the recovery of their accounts. Additionally, another user claimed there was no way to lodge an appeal of the decision by YouTube.
"This is incredibly annoying since I pay for Premium," wrote one commenter
"If your channel was incorrectly removed and reinstated, you might notice some content, such as playlists, might be missing," YouTube's support thread said. "Don't worry-this is just a delay and all your content will soon be restored."
"We're happy to report that all channels incorrectly removed for Spam & Deceptive Practices have been fully reinstated! This includes access to all subscriptions (YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music). We're working on reinstating the last few videos, thanks for bearing with us! We know this was a frustrating experience, really appreciate your patience while we sort this out," reads an October 4 update from YouTube