YouTube has removed the channels of several Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) creators for allegedly violating its policy against “sexually gratifying” content, a wave of terminations that left the creators confused and financially exposed, according to a report from 404 Media.

Creators including ItsBunniiASMR, Slight Sounds, Nananightray, Roseasmr, Simoneasmr, and Janina Wilhelmsen all received the same notice from YouTube in late July. “We have reviewed your content and found severe or repeated violations of our sex and nudity policy. Because of this, we have removed your channel from YouTube,” the email read.

That explanation does not match the rationale YouTube gave to 404 Media directly. A company spokesperson said the channels were terminated for linking out to content elsewhere that violates YouTube’s nudity and sexual content policy, not for the videos posted on YouTube itself. “Our external link policies apply equally to all creators across YouTube, and this action was taken in accordance with our long-standing policies, not as a change in policy or targeting of ASMR content,” the spokesperson said.

Several affected creators post separate, unrestricted ASMR content on platforms such as OnlyFans and Fansly, which they say they keep distinct from the SFW videos on their YouTube channels. ItsBunniiASMR, who had roughly 230,000 subscribers, said she used YouTube as a passive-income library while streaming ASMR primarily on Twitch. “YouTube deciding to ban my account and many others feels like they are siding with gross sexualization of ASMR from people outside the community,” she said, adding that she and other creators depend on ASMR for sleep and mental health support.

According to a Tubefilter report, YouTube’s underlying policy is not new. The platform formally banned content “meant to be sexually gratifying in nature” in 2019, and said in 2022 that it had “strengthened our policies to better identify and action ASMR content that is sexually gratifying.” Tubefilter also noted that YouTube’s external link policy prohibits linking to content that violates its Community Guidelines regardless of where that content is hosted, and that creators who appealed the terminations told 404 Media their channels were not reinstated.

The terminations came without prior warning to the creators involved, who said they learned of the bans only after their channels were already down.

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