A French YouTuber, J0nathan, has had their channel of 190,000 subscribers removed by YouTube for violating the platform's policies against sex and nudity. The ban was issued over gameplay footage from the horror title Hellraiser: Revival, despite the creator's attempts to censor explicit content with black boxes and a "not for kids" label. The video was reportedly not age-gated.
J0nathan shared the ban notice on X, formerly Twitter, stating that the content was simply gameplay and not intended for sexual gratification. The notice cited YouTube's policy against sexually explicit content. The YouTuber informed IGN that they expected YouTube to apply an age restriction retroactively, as has happened with previous content.
"I’m addressing you one last time regarding the deletion of my channel with 190,000 subscribers due to an erroneous reason," J0nathan wrote on X. "It was simply a video game gameplay, and not content intended for sexual gratification. I am requesting one final serious review of my case before I pursue my appeals under the DSA framework and initiate legal proceedings with my lawyer. Above all, I wish for an amicable resolution."
The game's publisher, Saber Interactive, has advised content creators to adhere to all platform policies when sharing gameplay from Hellraiser. However, they offered no specific guidance beyond that.
J0nathan noted that other channels have apparently shared footage from the same game segments without facing penalties. This discrepancy raises questions about the consistency of YouTube's content moderation, whether it was an automated system or a manual review that flagged the video. It remains unclear if those other channels will face similar action in the future. The ban notice stated, "Explicit content that’s meant to be sexually gratifying isn’t allowed on YouTube."