YouTube will suspend, ban accounts violating policies following ‘disturbing’ Capitol riot

YouTube said Thursday it is updating its policies to implement strikes that could lead to accounts being suspended or permanently banned for violating guidelines.

The Google-owned company’s update comes just one day after President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and social media platforms took their most extreme actions yet to limit the spread of his posts. 

“Due to the disturbing events that transpired yesterday, and given that the election results have now been certified, starting today *any* channels posting new videos with false claims in violation of our policies will now receive a strike,” YouTube tweeted. 

1. Due to the disturbing events that transpired yesterday, and given that the election results have now been certified, starting today *any* channels posting new videos with false claims in violation of our policies will now receive a strike. https://t.co/aq3AVugzL7

— YouTubeInsider (@YouTubeInsider) January 7, 2021

Under YouTube’s new guidelines, an account will receive a warning the first time content is removed. The warning will specify the content removed, which policy it violated and tell the user what actions to take. 

If a policy is violated again after the warning, a user will receive a first strike that will block them from posting content for one week. A second violation within a 90-day period will lead to a second strike blocking the user from posting content for two weeks. 

If a third violation occurs within the same 90-day period, the user’s account will be permanently removed from the platform, YouTube said. 

In announcing the update, YouTube noted that it has removed “thousands of videos” spreading misinformation and claims of voter fraud in the last month, including “several videos President Trump posted to his channel.” 

The updated policy comes as tech giants took greater action against the president over his posts about the mob that stormed the Capitol. 

YouTube, along with Twitter and Facebook, removed a video Trump posted Wednesday that urged his supporters to go home but continued to spread unproven claims about election fraud. Trump repeated the claims at a protest rally before the rioting at the Capitol, which interrupted Congress’s effort to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. 

After removing the videos, Facebook and Twitter blocked Trump’s accounts. Facebook on Thursday said it would extend the ban on Trump’s account at least until Biden’s inauguration later this month.