[Exclusive] YouTube says account of singer convicted of sex crimes terminated according to guidelines

YouTube said that it decided to shut down the account of Go Young-wook, a former member of '90s band Roo'Ra who served 30 months in prison for raping minors, according to its guidelines, Monday.

“We have terminated Go!Youngwook GoDog Days channel in accordance with our Creator Responsibility guidelines, which prohibit off-platform behavior that harms YouTube’s community. This means that the uploader is unable to use, own or create any other YouTube channels.” a YouTube spokesperson told The Korea Herald on Monday.

YouTube's Creator Responsibility guidelines state that "as a YouTube creator, you (creator) should remain responsible both on and off the platform. If we see that a creator’s on- and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community."

According to the guidelines, the on- and/or off-platform behavior that may be considered inappropriate and result in penalties are behaviors that "intend to cause malicious harm to others" and/or "participate in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent or deceptive behavior that leads to real-world harm."

When asked whether YouTube considered Go Young-wook's content, which mostly featured videos of his daily life, including with his pet dog, as being inappropriate behavior that could lead to penalties under its guideline, the platform did not provide an official explanation as of Monday.

Regarding the shutdown of his channel, Go posted on social media platform X that he felt YouTube's decision to close his channel was unfair.

"It seems my YouTube channel was shut down overnight. I didn't upload any harmful content, yet it seems YouTube applied a rule (to shut down accounts) solely to me just because of my criminal record. I've already served my legal punishment, so why is it that some people are allowed to do this while others aren't? Is this really fair?" Go wrote on X on Friday after his YouTube channel was shut down sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning.

Go was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2013 for sexually assaulting and raping three teenage girls. Released in 2015, he became the first Korean celebrity to be required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.

The launch of his YouTube channel in August, which showcased his daily life and attracted 5,000 subscribers, including a popular video of his pet dog that logged 300,000 views and in turn provoked a nationwide backlash, with many disapproving of Go creating content.

YouTube does not have an official platform policy that prohibits convicted criminals from uploading content on YouTube, unlike Instagram, where convicted sex offenders are banned from using the social media platform.