On February 15, YouTube suspended The Breaking News Show , including all Audio Podcasts by eTurboNews and shows recorded by eTurboNews, the Rebuilding Travel discussions, and the World Tourism Network.
On February 15, listeners opening this popular YouTube channel saw a message within seconds: “Suspended due to Policy Violation.”
Audio versions of eTurboNews articles no longer convert, and anyone trying to watch them receives a prominent warning and a blank page.
After an unanswered appeal and another appeal confirming a mystery violation but providing not even a hint as to what was violated, a letter was mailed to the legal department. A generic email response was received on how to file an appeal.Obviously, no human ever saw the letter.
Three independent customer service agents told eTurboNews they could not do anything. This changed until a Google supervisor named Zel took charge of the matter.
Today, the @breakingnewsshow channel by eTurboNews is back online and has more than 9000 videos again for public view.
It becomes clear artificial intelligence got it wrong since there was never an identifiable reason given what was violated, but thanks to the dialogue between Steinmetz and Zel, the following email was received today.
Hi Juergen, Hope you are doing well.
Great news! I just received an update from our internal team and we’re pleased to let you know and after taking another look, we can confirm that it is not in violation of our Terms of Service. We have lifted the suspension of your account, and it is once again active and operational.
We’d like to thank you for your patience while we reviewed this case. Our goal is to make sure content doesn’t violate our Community Guidelines so that YouTube can be a safe place for all – and sometimes we make mistakes trying to get it right. We hope you understand, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this has caused.
We celebrate with you on your success! We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this process.
Have a great weekend ahead! Best, Zel
Steinmetz thanked Zel for her extraordinary effort beyond what her colleagues could not do.
eTurboNews is encouraging Google and YOUTUBE to identify violations clearly and provide a chance to respond based on a specific matter instead of guessing what could have caused a matter.
eTurboNews understands YOUTUBE owned by Google, Facebook, YouTube, X are all extremely powerful private companies and under no legal obligation to provide services to everyone.
However, due to their monopoly and influence, such companies should have strict public interest obligations and responsibilities different from those of other small communication providers.
Lawmakers should understand this and regulate this important process. A relationship between large social media outlets should be guaranteed without limiting freedom of speech. This should include a fair review process and a humanly managed legal avenue if necessary, that is able to work in a timely manner.