AdSense Account Terminated Wrongfully Need Legal Assistance

[MarketMania]

Jurisdiction

California

My AdSense account was terminated wrongfully. The reason they gave was "Our specialists have found that your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies. Publishers whose accounts have been disabled are not eligible for further participation in the AdSense program" This is 100% factually incorrect.

For starters I've got no other AdSense account nor have I ever had one disabled or terminated and I've also never violated AdSense policies. Also, it states in AdSense terms & conditions that I have the right to appeal the termination/disablement and if I don't appeal within 30 days then that right is waived. However, as of right now, every time I go to appeal it gives me an error that my publisher ID is invalid. I've spoken to YouTube support numerous times and they confirmed it was the correct publisher ID. Took video and screenshot evidence. Documented all my interactions. Even one of the YouTube support representatives said quote "This is odd"

They are withholding payments to me of approximately $2000, although I don't know exact amount as I can no longer can access my account. This is for adverts they ran on my videos between November 1st and December 10th (when they terminated my account). I believe they are also in breach of contract as the reason they gave for closing my account is factually incorrect.

The AdSense account was a business account for my LLC based in Wyoming. I suspect the error happened because my LLC's business address shares an address with many other businesses.

I came across this blogpost online here and it gave me a little hope: https://benbjurstrom.com/YouTube-de monetized where another YouTuber had exactly the same thing happen. The only difference in our situation was he could submit an appeal even though it was refused. He was also a lawyer and member of the California Bar association so he crafted a letter of demand and it worked!

I want to do the same but with the help of lawyer. I have no idea how to find a lawyer who can help with this type of stuff as it's very specific.

YouTube is my life's work and also my livelihood how I support myself and my family. I am really stressed and full of anxiety because this is so obvious to me that it is an error. Yet nobody at YouTube Support seems able to help or resolve it. They constantly send me round in circles. They are wasting time.

Its mind-blowing to me how such a large company can do a thing like this.

 

[army judge]

There's very little you could do to change a "made up mind" or a "hardened heart".

I suggest you seek new, additional sources of income, ASAP.

I suspect if you read the terms of your former association, you'd quickly discover things favor the master, not the slave!!

 

[MarketMania]

There's very little you could do to change a "made up mind" or a "hardened heart".

I suggest you seek new, additional sources of income, ASAP.

I suspect if you read the terms of your former association, you'd quickly discover things favor the master, not the slave!!

Thanks for your response.

I did read the terms and conditions. Yes they do but did you also check out the link to the blog post of the guy who had exactly the same thing happen?

 

[Tax Counsel]

You need to speak with an attorney in California. The situation you have amounts to a contract dispute, so an attorney who litigates contract matters is what I suggest you look for. There are a number of ways to find an attorney. Online I have two suggestions for you. The first is the State Bar of California's attorney referral service and the second is the FindLaw attorney referral service, which is the largest private company referral service in the U.S. You may also want to try using your internet search engine (Google, Bing, etc) for "California contract litigation attorneys" and look for CA law schools that offer legal clinic services to the public.

By the way, if you don't conduct business in Wyoming and all your business is in CA then you are likely wasting money with the Wyoming state business registration. In order for your Wyoming LLC or corporation to get the benefit of limited liablity protection in CA it must register as a foreign business entity (foreign in this case meaning any entity formed outside of CA) which means you end up paying the same CA registration fees, CA franchise tax, and CA sales taxes for your business transactions in CA as you would if you had simply set up the business in CA. Your Wyoming registration also allows those with disputes with your business to sue you in Wyoming rather than CA, which can make litigation for you more expensive. You may want to consult a CA business attorney to see if you ought to change the state of incorporation for your business.

Google owns AdSense and has attorneys on retainer for battling out this sort of thing. Be sure you ask the attorneys you talk with specifically what their fees are and how much, realisticallly, you may end up spending pursuing appeals and litigation on this. There comes a point at which even if you win the money you spend to get the win is more than what you get from your win.

 

[adjusterjack]

even if you win the money you spend to get the win is more than what you get from your win.

That is known as a Pyrrhic Victory.

 

[MarketMania]

You need to speak with an attorney in California. The situation you have amounts to a contract dispute, so an attorney who litigates contract matters is what I suggest you look for. There are a number of ways to find an attorney. Online I have two suggestions for you. The first is the State Bar of California's attorney referral service and the second is the FindLaw attorney referral service, which is the largest private company referral service in the U.S. You may also want to try using your internet search engine (Google, Bing, etc) for "California contract litigation attorneys" and look for CA law schools that offer legal clinic services to the public.

By the way, if you don't conduct business in Wyoming and all your business is in CA then you are likely wasting money with the Wyoming state business registration. In order for your Wyoming LLC or corporation to get the benefit of limited liablity protection in CA it must register as a foreign business entity (foreign in this case meaning any entity formed outside of CA) which means you end up paying the same CA registration fees, CA franchise tax, and CA sales taxes for your business transactions in CA as you would if you had simply set up the business in CA. Your Wyoming registration also allows those with disputes with your business to sue you in Wyoming rather than CA, which can make litigation for you more expensive. You may want to consult a CA business attorney to see if you ought to change the state of incorporation for your business.

Google owns AdSense and has attorneys on retainer for battling out this sort of thing. Be sure you ask the attorneys you talk with specifically what their fees are and how much, realisticallly, you may end up spending pursuing appeals and litigation on this. There comes a point at which even if you win the money you spend to get the win is more than what you get from your win.

Thank you for your response. That is really helpful. My business is actually registered legally in Wyoming. The reason I put California as the jurisdiction was Google resides in California should I not have done this?

You've provided some very good points and resources I'll wait for your confirmation

 

[welkin]

My AdSense account was terminated wrongfully. The reason they gave was "Our specialists have found that your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies. Publishers whose accounts have been disabled are not eligible for further participation in the AdSense program" This is 100% factually incorrect.

Google, YouTube, and AdSense are all dishonest enterprises, in my humble opinion. They are constantly changing the rules and updating their TOS without any regard to the TOS you signed up for when you created your accounts. AdSense just keeps your earned ad income generated by your videos when they terminate your account. They say they will send it to you, but it never comes. I've been waiting a year, and it never comes.

I have a YouTube channel with more than 100 videos and 2.4K subscribers. I started it in 2/2011. When I hit 1000 subscribers, they invited me into the Partner program, and I opened an AdSense account. For years, they would send me checks 3- or 4-times a year. You couldn't live on it, and I wasn't trying to. It was fun money.

I retired and when Covid hit I started to lose interest in the channel. I stopped creating and uploading videos. But the channel kept getting views and subscribers and they were still running ads with my videos and sending me the cash.

That is up until Sept. 2023. So, for 11 years all was good and then I get an email.

We noticed you haven't posted any content to your YouTube channel for several months, and have fallen below the eligibility criteria for YouTube Partner Program (YPP). We know monetization is important to you as a creator, so we want to let you know that unless you meet the YPP eligibility threshold in the next 30 days, we will disable monetization

The new requirement out of the blue is 4000 viewing hours in the last 12-month period which starts new each month. Then in March 2024, I get an email saying my AdSense account is closed and they will send me the remaining balance in it. It never came.

My advice to you is to move your channel to Rumble and don't waste your money fighting the giants.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Thank you for your response. That is really helpful. My business is actually registered legally in Wyoming. The reason I put California as the jurisdiction was Google resides in California should I not have done this?

Choosing the jurisidiction that likely governs the contract law that applies and/or the jurisdiction where the litigation takes place is preferred as that will get you the best replies. Your contract with AdSense likely includes more than just the TOS info on the website. You need to read both to see the rights Google reserved for itself in the contract. I would not be surprised if there were a mandatory arbitration provision as well as a provision that specifies which state's law will apply. That's important information in deciding what your options are.

 

[MarketMania]

Choosing the jurisidiction that likely governs the contract law that applies and/or the jurisdiction where the litigation takes place is preferred as that will get you the best replies. Your contract with AdSense likely includes more than just the TOS info on the website. You need to read both to see the rights Google reserved for itself in the contract. I would not be surprised if there were a mandatory arbitration provision as well as a provision that specifies which state's law will apply. That's important information in deciding what your options are.

Thank you so much