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YouTube Enforcement Timeline

Every moderation action YouTube reports under the EU Digital Services Act — grouped by violation type and linked to the specific Community Guideline that governs each enforcement bucket. Critical for creators, advertisers, and brand safety teams.

Updated daily
782,151actions in last 7 days
1platform

782,151 YouTube actions in total

Category
Fri
Jul 24
Thu
Jul 23
Wed
Jul 22
Tue
Jul 21
Mon
Jul 20
Sun
Jul 19
Community guideline violations
428,721 total
76,42274,11970,80764,29465,71977,360
Scams and/or fraud
176,691 total
51,42640,92428,05823,91815,07617,289
Unsafe, non-compliant or prohibited products
98,713 total
13,39313,66413,59412,85623,25321,953
Consumer information infringements
44,641 total
6,9086,94910,0836,5988,4055,698
Protection of minors
22,176 total
3,6113,7333,6613,5853,7043,882
Intellectual property infringements
4,869 total
8568148571,112764466
Negative effects on civic discourse or elections
3,137 total
585867292576172645
Data protection and privacy violations
2,118 total
429453439477147173
Illegal or harmful speech
575 total
144107129976830
Violence
431 total
14310664245836
Risk for public security
52 total
13261759
Cyber violence
27 total
196713
Animal welfare
0 total
——————
Cyber violence against women
0 total
——————
Self-harm
0 total
——————
Unspecified notices
0 total
——————
Daily total153,931141,747127,996113,561117,372127,544
Heat scale:lowmidhigh· per row, relative to that category's max, source: EU DSA Transparency Database (CC BY 4.0)
Read this

Most YouTube accounts find out too late.

Three patterns the operators who keep their YouTube accounts watch for — and how to read this page like one of them.

01

Inside YouTube's EU enforcement pipeline

YouTube's DSA reporting captures every public moderation action across long-form video, Shorts, and channel-level decisions. Strikes, video removals, demonetizations, and full channel terminations all flow into the same database. The categories with highest volume — spam and scams, misinformation, hateful conduct — are the same ones where YouTube has been tightening its Community Guidelines most aggressively over the past 18 months. Each row in the heatmap above corresponds to a category where YouTube has published a specific policy; the sidebar links surface the exact policy article so you can read the rule that governs the action.

02

Why this matters for creators and advertisers

For creators, every enforcement spike is a signal that YouTube's automated systems have been retrained or its reviewer guidance updated. A bump in 'Harmful or dangerous content' enforcement, for example, often signals tightened interpretation of stunt, prank, or extreme-fitness content — and creators in adjacent niches are usually the next to feel it. For advertisers, this timeline is a leading indicator of brand-safety tightening; a spike in spam/scams enforcement frequently coincides with stricter ad eligibility on financial-product creatives. Channels in news, health, and finance niches should treat any visible category darkening as a cue to review recent uploads.

03

How to use the policy banners

The blue banners above the table are policy changes our scanner detected on YouTube's own help center pages. Because YouTube enforcement is heavily automated, policy changes often translate to enforcement action faster than on other platforms — sometimes within 24-72 hours. When you see a policy banner alongside a darkening row in the matching category, treat it as a confirmed signal: the rule is now being applied, not just announced. The heat scale is per-row, so even niche categories with lower volume reveal their own internal trend clearly.

The rules they got banned for

Every action above stems from one of these YouTube rules.

Not knowing what changed in these rules is what got the accounts in the table suspended, demonetized, or removed. Read the rule, or get alerted the moment YouTube updates it — your call.

Community guideline violations
55% · 428,721
Scams and/or fraud
23% · 176,691
Unsafe, non-compliant or prohibited products
13% · 98,713
Consumer information infringements
6% · 44,641
Protection of minors
3% · 22,176
Intellectual property infringements
1% · 4,869
Negative effects on civic discourse or elections
0% · 3,137
Data protection and privacy violations
0% · 2,118
Illegal or harmful speech
0% · 575
YouTube Community Guidelines

Frequently asked questions

Where does this YouTube enforcement data come from?
Every action is sourced directly from the European Commission's DSA Transparency Database. YouTube submits each moderation decision — video removals, channel terminations, demonetizations — under Article 24(5) of the Digital Services Act. We aggregate their daily submissions under CC BY 4.0.
How do enforcement categories map to YouTube's actual Community Guidelines?
DSA defines 16 enforcement categories. We surface the most relevant YouTube Community Guideline (Hate Speech, Harassment, Child Safety, Spam/Scams, Copyright, etc.) for each category in the sidebar. If you see a spike in 'Scams and/or fraud' enforcement, the link takes you to YouTube's Spam, Deceptive Practices & Scams policy.
What does this mean for creators and advertisers?
YouTube enforcement directly impacts monetization and channel reach. A spike in 'Harmful or Dangerous Content' enforcement, for example, often signals a tightening of how YouTube interprets that policy — which can affect creators in adjacent niches even before their content is flagged.
How often is this timeline updated?
New entries are added every morning after our ingestion cron pulls yesterday's data from the DSA Transparency API. Expect each day's snapshot to appear roughly 12–18 hours after the calendar day ends.
How do YouTube policy changes relate to enforcement spikes?
When YouTube updates a Community Guideline or Ad Policy (tracked by our Policy Change Scanner), enforcement in that category typically rises 3–10 days later. We surface related policy changes inline with the timeline where they align with enforcement dates.
Can I get alerted when YouTube enforcement spikes in my niche?
Yes — our paid plans includes anomaly alerts that notify you by email when enforcement in a specific category spikes significantly above the baseline. Particularly useful for creators in sensitive niches (news, health, finance, gaming with regulated themes).

Track YouTube's policies — before your channel gets a strike.

YouTube's enforcement on creators and advertisers escalates fast — strike, demonetize, terminate. Get alerted the moment YouTube updates a Community Guideline or Ad Policy, so you adjust before the action hits.

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