"this morning, as I was finishing up work on a video about a new mini Pi cluster, I got a cheerful email from YouTube saying my video on LibreELEC on the Pi 5 was removed because it promoted:
Dangerous or Harmful Content Content that describes how to get unauthorized or free access to audio or audiovisual content, software, subscription services, or games that usually require payment isn’t allowed on YouTube.
I never described any of that stuff, only how to self-host your own media library.
This wasn’t my first rodeo—in October last year, I got a strike for showing people how to install Jellyfin!
In that case, I was happy to see my appeal granted within an hour of the strike being placed on the channel. (Nevermind the fact the video had been live for over two years at that point, with nary a problem!)
So I thought, this case will be similar:
- The video’s been up for over a year, without issue
- The video’s had over half a million views
- The video doesn’t promote or highlight any tools used to circumvent copyright, get around paid subscriptions, or reproduce any content illegally
Slam-dunk, right? Well, not according to whomever reviewed my appeal. Apparently self-hosted open source media library management is harmful.
Who knew open source software could be so subversive?"
PUT DOWN THAT JELLYFIN SERVER AND NOBODY NEEDS TO GET HURT!! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!!!
The best alternatives for creators to obtain revenue are Bandcamp and Odysee, they have an fair business modell. Certainly when YT said selfhosting is harmfull, it’s only for their business modell, but if creators create their own pages with their work, it’s not really a solution, it will be interesting only for direct fans.
Let’s also not forget Google wants you storing your photos on Google Photos, listening to music on YouTube, buying / renting movies from the Google Store, and streaming from Google TV.
It isn’t just YouTube. It’s their whole ecosystem.
By the way, I have a NAS setup. Was it pricey? Sure. But it cost about what it would to watch the NFL this year, and should last several years.
If you’re located in EU this could be a great case for DSA-based mediation. If you’re pissed maybe try reaching out to a DSA appointed mediator in your country?
Jeff is located in St. Louis Missouri unfortunately.
Misery, USA
They’d ban the RPi if they could too
Now I’m gonna self-host even harder
I’m surprised YouTube still lets you list your PeerTube channel in your YouTube channel description.
I try to drive all my YT traffic straight to PT
++++ for making people aware of Peertube.
I know peertube is the fancy right way to self-host videos, but does anyone just post movie files directly to their website anymore? Seems pretty easy to throw mp4s into a folder on your web server…
