Self-hosting your own media considered harmful - I just received my second community guidelines violation for my video demonstrating the use of LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi 5, for 4K video playback

[technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

YouTube pulled a popular tutorial video from tech creator Jeff Geerling this week, claiming his guide to installing LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi 5 violated policies against "harmful content." The video, which showed viewers how to set up their own home media servers, had been live for over a year and racked up more than 500,000 views. YouTube's automated systems flagged the content for allegedly teaching people "how to get unauthorized or free access to audio or audiovisual content."

Geerling says his tutorial covered only legal self-hosting of media people already own -- no piracy tools or copyright workarounds. He said he goes out of his way to avoid mentioning popular piracy software in his videos. It's the second time YouTube has pulled a self-hosting content video from Geerling. Last October, YouTube removed his Jellyfin tutorial, though that decision was quickly reversed after appeal. This time, his appeal was denied.

[db2@lemmy.world]

Sue YouTube. They won't change meaningfully until forced to.

[partial_accumen@lemmy.world]

Sue for defamation that Youtube are alleging he is promoting criminal activity of piracy.

[yurkshirelad@lemmy.ca]

Like google, I'm sure Jeff has a near unlimited supply of money to pay lawyers.

[wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world]

But being a pushover is not the answer, so...

[ulrich@feddit.org]

I mean maybe if YT said that? The only thing they said is that it's "harmful" somehow. And they won't elaborate anymore than that.

[dhork@lemmy.world]

I think ripping DVDs is still technically illegal, even though CSS has long since been broken. It is still illegal to circumvent encryption in a copy protection scheme, even if it's for your own personal use and the encryption scheme has been pwned.

I bet if he didn't mention that his videos were ripped from DVD, they might have left it up.

[alphane_moon@lemmy.world]

Perhaps this can a driver of sorts for Peertube.

It's a good thing that I can't stand video tutorials or reviews (with the exception of video games).

[blue_morpho@lemmy.world]

Was it YouTube or someone else that reported him? I think YouTube is fully automated so it blocked him and is ignoring appeal because of the previous complaint.

[buelldozer@lemmy.today]

This kind of crap is driving popular creators, like Geerling, to move to other places. YT / Alphabet has lost the plot.

[sorghum@sh.itjust.works]

If harmful isn't defined in the ToS, then the Merriam Webster definition will likely be construed to mean to be harmful to YouTube's business or to users. Although YouTube has been selective in this enforcement, ie not banning all videos pertaining to martial arts or fighting clips, drug use, or ad block tutorials.

[ulrich@feddit.org]

That just answers a question that no one is asking. This is not an issue of defining words, it's an issue of what the words are referring to, exactly.

[entwine413@lemm.ee]

Neither is throwing money away on a lawsuit with no chance of success.

[sorghum@sh.itjust.works]

Exactly, I haven't read the ToS to see if it is defined or references anything in there. I usually default to the standard definition of a word unless explicitly stated otherwise. For example, Sony changed the definition of purchase to remove any notion of ownership when buying content on their streaming platform.

[ulrich@feddit.org]

What? LOL no, not "exactly". Again the definition is not in question. The question is what the word is referring to.

[isgleas@lemmy.ml]

Iirc, you are entitled to have/create a backup of your physical media, as long as it is for your personal use.

[jasondj@lemmy.zip]

Yep. Most of my favorite creators are on Nebula now.

The ones that aren't get watched on SmartTube or in Brave Browser.

[sorghum@sh.itjust.works]

Just did a cursory search for harm on the YouTube ToS. There is no definition that I saw, but it does say "may cause harm". So my suspicion that anything could be construed to be harmful to YouTube's business is likely correct. Quoted sections of the YouTube ToS containing the word "harm" as of 2025-06-06 17:20 GMT.

Removal of Content By YouTube

If any of your Content (1) is in breach of this Agreement or (2) may cause harm to YouTube, our users, or third parties, we reserve the right to remove or take down some or all of such Content in our discretion. We will notify you with the reason for our action unless we reasonably believe that to do so: (a) would breach the law or the direction of a legal enforcement authority or would otherwise risk legal liability for YouTube or our Affiliates; (b) would compromise an investigation or the integrity or operation of the Service; or (c) would cause harm to any user, other third party, YouTube or our Affiliates. You can learn more about reporting and enforcement, including how to appeal on the Troubleshooting page of our Help Center.

Terminations and Suspensions by YouTube

YouTube reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Google account or your access to all or part of the Service if (a) you materially or repeatedly breach this Agreement; (b) we are required to do so to comply with a legal requirement or a court order; or (c) we reasonably believe that there has been conduct that creates (or could create) liability or harm to any user, other third party, YouTube or our Affiliates.

Notice for Termination or Suspension

We will notify you with the reason for termination or suspension by YouTube unless we reasonably believe that to do so: (a) would violate the law or the direction of a legal enforcement authority; (b) would compromise an investigation; (c) would compromise the integrity, operation or security of the Service; or (d) would cause harm to any user, other third party, YouTube or our Affiliates.

About this Agreement

Changing this Agreement
We may change this Agreement, for example, (1) to reflect changes to our Service or how we do business - for example, when we add new products or features or remove old ones, (2) for legal, regulatory, or security reasons, or (3) to prevent abuse or harm.

If we materially change this Agreement, we’ll provide you with reasonable advance notice and the opportunity to review the changes, except (1) when we launch a new product or feature, or (2) in urgent situations, such as preventing ongoing abuse or responding to legal requirements. If you don’t agree to the new terms, you should remove any Content you uploaded and stop using the Service.

[avidamoeba@lemmy.ca]

It absolutely is on an individual level in a system where capital decides who writes the laws and who gets justice. The way you push back is by organizing as a class or at least a group.

[dhork@lemmy.world]

But if I remember from back in the day, the DMCA doesn't have any exception for that. This is why CD ripping was legal, while DVD ripping was not. It had nothing to do with fair use or backups, but rather that DVDs have encryption, and CDs do not. Circumventing that encryption for any reason was illegal.

I don't think it has changed, but it's been a hot minute since the Cypherpunks all wore DeCSS T-Shirts....