NEWS
VAPING
UNDER
ATTACK
YOUTUBE IS CRACKING DOWN ON
CBD AND VAPING CONTENT
By Gordon Stribling
14 | VM17
YouTube’s active vaping community has been
rocked by a series of strikes from the platform’s
moderators that have resulted in numerous
videos being flagged as ‘inappropriate’ or
removed altogether. It was around this time that JUUL and other vape-
related videos began disappearing from YouTube
with little to no warning. Some in the industry have
suggested that tobacco-controllers are actively
flagging all JUUL and vape-related content.
The move appears to have been instigated following
the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation
into pod manufacturer JUUL, for allegedly selling
their products to minors. The FDA’s letter to the
San Francisco-based company claimed that JUUL
device s are “common in middle and high schools.” Offending channels are subject to a three-strikes
policy. The initial strike sets the process in motion.
A second strike within a three-month period bans
channel-owners from uploading new content for two
weeks. A third strike within the same period results in
the channel being terminated.
A slew of stories about teen use of the device (often
referred to as ‘JUULing’) and pressure from anti-
tobacco groups has given the manufacturers little
choice but to fall in line. The company launched
a $30 million campaign on April 25 to help combat
underage nicotine use. The situation is a frustrating one for content-creators.
YouTube’s community guidelines are broad and
flexible enough that moderators can remove pretty
much anything. And the lack of transparency on
YouTube’s part means that content creators are
trying to stay within parameters that only YouTube
themselves fully understand.