YouTube Freezes Trump Uploads After Removing New Video

YouTube removed a new video from Donald Trump’s channel on January 13 and imposed a minimum seven-day freeze on new uploads after issuing a first strike for violating its violence policy. The company said the takedown was tied to concerns about ongoing potential violence. The penalty did not shut the channel down permanently, but it did block Trump from posting fresh material for at least a week. techcrunch.com The timing mattered. Trump was still president on January 13, 2021, but only for another week, and the action landed during the scramble by major platforms to tighten enforcement after the Capitol attack. YouTube’s move followed earlier removals and warnings, but this one carried a formal strike under the company’s system, which means a first strike triggers a one-week freeze on uploads and other channel activity. blog.youtube YouTube did not publicly identify the exact video that prompted the penalty. The company said it had removed content uploaded to the channel after review, and reporting at the time said the channel could not upload new videos or livestreams for a minimum of seven days, with the suspension open to extension depending on the company’s enforcement decisions. techcrunch.com The practical effect was immediate: one of Trump’s main direct-to-supporter channels had been narrowed again, this time by a platform that had already begun treating his account as a higher-risk source of political content. The January 13 action did not end his access to YouTube, but it did put another enforced pause in front of the account at a moment when he still had a live White House schedule and a shrinking set of megaphones online. techcrunch.com