#BringBackLofiGirl worked: YouTube streams return after outcry!
San Bruno, California - The tag #BringBackLofiGirl paid off, and YouTube cleared the fan-favorite lo-fi streaming channel Lofi Girl to bring its tunes to millions of people.
The Lofi Girl channel's two lo-fi hip hop radio streams – "beats to relax/study to" and "beats to sleep/chill to" – are back online after being taken down for three days by YouTube.
And we're more than grateful that the channel isn't dead.
Through the years, Lofi Girl helped listeners study and fall asleep, and some even swear that they passed their exams thanks to the channel. For more than two years, Lofi Girl inspired people all over the world with relaxed lo-fi jams and chilled-out hip hop tunes.
According to TechCrunch, the channel's livestream was viewed more than 660 million times, and over 10 million people followed the channel.
But on Sunday, this came to an abrupt, albeit temporary, interruption.
Via Twitter, Lofi Girl announced that YouTube had shut down their two streams due to false copyright allegations.
"Hopefully @YouTubeCreators @YouTube will sort this quickly..."
The announcement was followed by a storm of outrage, with the hashtag #BringBackLofiGirl quickly trending on Twitter with comments such as, "No, the stream doesn't work! Now I'll probably never pass my exams!"
Fortunately, the streams are working again, and you can get your fix of sweet lo-fi beats to study or sleep to over on Lofi Girl.
YouTube's copyright strikes
Twitter users who commented on Lofi Girl's incident complained about YouTube's copyright rules, which allow anyone to file lawsuits.
When a suit is filed, YouTube in turn responds with so-called copyright strikes against the defendant as a small warning. If a channel receives three strikes within 90 days, it then gets deleted from the platform.
But the massive loophole that allows anyone to file can quickly turn into an attack. If just three people decide they want to mess with a channel, they can do so by triggering the copyright strike action.
YouTube continued to apologize on Monday for shutting down the two Lofi Girl streams, acknowledging that its policies had been exploited.
"We've resolved the strikes + reinstated your vids," TeamYouTube told Lofi Girl on Twitter. "So sorry this happened & thx for your patience as we sorted it out."
Thankfully, the channel's lo-fi streams were only down for a few days, but the problem highlights how easy it is for malicious users to roll in and shut down a YouTube channel's videos.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS/Screenshot/Twitter/@lofigirl