An open letter to our community:
Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You’re right to be. You deserve to know what's going on.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
After taking a shocking 11 days to respond to vlogger Logan Paul’s video that included him laughing next to the body of a suicide victim, YouTube has said that Paul will be sanctioned for his video.
Paul’s channel has a following of over 15.6 million subscribers and has, until now, been included in a premium advertisement line-up package reserved for Youtube’s most popular channels. The sanctions include the removal of his channel from the premium list, Paul being dropped from the YouTube original series ‘Foursome’ alongside other projects with other companies such as his project for French media company Blackpills and his new YouTube projects being placed on hold.
During a Q&A at the Television Critics Association press tour, when talking about whether YouTube would work with Paul again, YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl said that “The most important thing to focus on is that actions should speak louder than words. Logan has the opportunity to prove that.” His refusal to give an outright answer as to Paul’s future with the company has outraged many and put YouTube under even more public scrutiny.
There is now also a Change.Org petition calling for Paul’s YouTube channel to be deleted which has received over 500,000 signatures so far. Eyes have been on the company since the video was posted especially as it was up for 24 hours without age restrictions before it was taken down due to volunteers from YouTube’s “trusted flagger” programme. Though Paul has stopped uploading videos while he takes the time to “reflect”, YouTube has declined to comment on whether or not since the scandal Paul has been receiving an income from his other monetised videos which include other offensive videos from his time in Japan.
According to a report from the Telegraph, Paul’s Japan videos may make £66,000 ($90,000) which means YouTube also stands to make money. With an income of $12.5 million last year, only about a quarter of which came from YouTube ads, it’s safe to say that Paul will still be financially secure especially as it’s been estimated that the loss of income from disciplinary measures won’t exceed $3 million.
