YouTube tests a new way for creators to avoid takedowns | TechCrunch

YouTube is now testing a new feature that will let creators edit their videos to remove age restrictions and restore videos that had been impacted due to certain Community Guidelines violations.

Until now, if a video received an age restriction label or was removed for breaking YouTube’s Community Guidelines, creators had to go through an appeal process and wait for the result. Creators could only appeal once, and there was no recourse but to accept the result.

The company is now giving creators another chance to have the age restrictions removed or reinstate video with this test. On its support page, YouTube said eligible creators will see a new option to edit their content in YouTube Studio.

Once the creator edits the video, the YouTube team will review these changes and remove any age restrictions or Community Guidelines violation strikes. The company said creators can also choose to appeal the decision rather than edit the video, as before.

YouTube said creators with access to advanced features will be able to use the edit feature.

The feature is useful for creators who might have overlooked something while editing a video and can make an edit without changing the narration or style. It is also useful for folks who might not have known if YouTube had made a change to their policy. But folks who feel that YouTube’s strikes are breaking their creative freedom might still choose to appeal the video streaming service’s decisions.

Over the years, creators have expressed annoyance with YouTube’s Community Guideline striking system. Last year, the company introduced a new program that lets creators take training to wipe out their strikes as long as they don’t break the rules again within 90 days of taking the training.

With YouTube rolling out more AI tools to aid video making, it will need to form policies around how AI is used in these videos. Earlier this year, the platform started tightening the noose around videos that “realistically simulate” deceased children or victims of crimes. Creators might also use third-party AI tools to make and edit videos. AI can make mistakes while editing and overlook content that could potentially break YouTube’s rules. The company’s new test might give an out for creators whose videos might fall under this bracket.

The story has been updated with YouTube’s input about creator eligibility.