A trio of popular Pokemon YouTubers were among the accounts wrongly banned by Google over the weekend for being involved in “activity that sexualises minors”.
As the BBC report, Mystic7, Trainer Tips and Marksman all found their accounts removed not long after uploading footage of themselves playing Pokemon GO.
It’s believed the error occurred thanks to their video’s continued use of the term “CP”, which in Pokemon GO refers to “Combat Points”, but which YouTube’s algorithm assumed was “Child Pornography”.
The accounts were quickly restored, though only thanks to external pressure, since the nature of the original bans meant that a user’s entire Google account—including email—was blocked, not just their YouTube page.
But the issue once again raises concerns over the automated manner in which YouTube judges and delivers these bans. These are absolutely decisions that need to be made by human beings, and the fact Google relies on an algorithm that repeatedly fails in instances like these continues to affect all kinds of YouTubers and streamers.