Another Lawsuit Over Online Content Restrictions Fails–Qian v. YouTube

Qian uploaded content to YouTube, which YouTube restricted in various ways. Qian sued YouTube for breaching its TOS. The district court granted summary judgment to YouTube. The Second Circuit affirms.

YouTube’s TOS contained a standard reservation of rights to do whatever it wanted. Qian seemed to claim that he didn’t get any notice and explanation about YouTube’s actions as he thought the TOS required, but the court disagrees. YouTube’s TOS “did not require YouTube to give advance notice or provide a specific cause to Qian before removing his content.” The court continues:

Qian acknowledges that after YouTube removed one of his channels, he received an email notice explaining that YouTube took down his content because it was “serious[ly] or repeatedly in violation of [its] Community Guidelines.” Given the above provisions, YouTube was not obligated to do anything more. Qian also fails to identify any provisions in the Terms of Service or Community Guidelines that granted him the right to alter his violative content to bring it into compliance, or to download content that had been or was going to be removed.

This becomes yet another failed account termination/content removal case, this time turning solely on TOS grounds. It’s a good reminder that if your TOS promises users any notice, explanation, or appeal about account terminations or content removals, you need to deliver on that promise or you will make your life more difficult in court. Better yet, water down or eliminate any “promises” about notices, explanations, or appeals (to the extent permitted by law) so that the plaintiffs can’t deploy any tendentious reading skills.

Case Citation: Qian v. YouTube, LLC, 2025 WL 582785 (2d Cir. Feb. 24, 2025). The complaint.