YouTube: How to File a Complaint About Youtube in India?

YouTube is an American online video-sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States. Launched by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim in February 2005, it was acquired by Google in November 2006 as a subsidiary of Google LLC. Along with video sharing, YouTube also offers video streaming and Shorts, live streaming, YouTube Music/TV/Kids, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Studio with Creator program to earn by ads within videos.

YouTube is very popular in India and used by Indians for a variety of purposes, including entertainment, education, and information. Several initiatives to support the growth of the Indian digital ecosystem are YouTube NextUp, FanFest, Learning, and YouTube Originals.

Have complaints about YouTube India? You can contact customer support for YouTube by requesting a callback, sending an email, or engaging in a live chat with Google support executives.

Resolve the issues related to:

• YouTube Video Streaming: Issues with live video streaming, Shorts, YT Music, or video playback problems and buffering with broadcasts for events, concerts, podcasts, and shows.
• YouTube Premium: Concerns with ad-free videos, background play, offline downloads/viewing, YouTube Music Premium (music playback), and subscription payments such as billing errors or transaction failures.
• YouTube Partner (Creator): Problems related to managing, uploading, and promoting videos through channels including content management, monetization, and YouTube creator payments.
• Payments & Membership: Disputes related to YouTube Giving (donation/charity), channel memberships, shows and movies purchased or tented on YouTube, and Super Chat/ Stickers or Super Thanks.
• Others: Facing issues accessing Primetime channels or premium content within membership channels and other issues or questions about paid advertisements/fake ads and YouTube services including technical problems related to YouTube apps.
• Violations: Complaints about the violation of trademark, privacy/copyright, stored music policy, and legal matters such as counterfeit, abusive/prohibited content – nudity, etc.
• Legal issues: Report hate speech, harassment, child endangerment, and illegal content such as gambling or money laundering to YouTube or government authorities in India.

Not resolved to your satisfaction by YouTube Support? You can lodge a grievance by escalating the disputed matter to the appointed Grievance Officer for YouTube, Google LLC – India with the raised ticket number.

How to File a Complaint of YouTube?

According to the grievance redressal mechanism for YouTube defined by Google, the resolution process involves two stages. Initially, you may raise your concerns to the YouTube customer support team or use the resources from the Google help center for YouTube.

If not resolved even after complaining to the Google customer care team, you can escalate the disputed matter to the next designated authority (as per the laws of the respective country).

Grievance Redressal Mechanism:

Levels of Lodging Complaint:

• Level 1: Complain to Customer Service, YouTube (may take 24 hours to respond)
  • Toll-free number (if available)
  • Email
  • Complain Online or Live Chat
• Level 2: Escalate the unresolved complaint to the appointed Grievance Officer for YouTube, Google LLC – India. (This may be different for other countries)

Please note: If you have any complaint about the violation of privacy by YouTube or misuse of your data by Google LLC, you may lodge a public grievance to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Govt. of India through Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).

Level 1: Customer Care, YouTube

At the initial stage, if you have issues with YouTube, contact customer support by requesting a callback or sending an email. You may prefer chat support or online resolution forms of Google support for faster help.

Required details to register a complaint:

• The nature of the complaint (Such as Fix a YouTube problem, YouTube Premium, Monetise with the YouTube Partner Programme, or other available options)
• Description of the issue with screenshots of supporting evidence such as technical problems, billings, transaction failures, or video contents and copies of documents.

Details to Contact customer service:

• YouTube Complaint Number: You may request a call back (log in with the registered Google account)
• Email: Click to Contact
• Complain online to YouTube: File a complaint
• X (Twitter): @YouTube

Tip: Beware of scams, don’t share bank/personal details; use only the official YouTube app for help. Stay safe!

Procedure

Follow the steps to lodge your complaint with YouTube support.

Step 1: Visit the YouTube support page (https://support.google.com/youtube). Select contact options from the “Need more help?” section.

Step 2: After choosing “Contact us”, select the type of help needed and mention the issue in help input (Minimum 5 characters required).

Step 3: Click on relevant resources to resolve your issues. If not resolved then click on the “Next step” button.

Step 4: After this, choose the communication method to raise your complaints with YouTube support. You may request a callback, Chat with executives, or send an email form.

Step 5: After selecting the support method, fill out the required contact form and submit it. If you have requested a callback, wait for the given estimated time.

Please note: After successful registration of your complaint, note down the reference/ticket number for future reference.

Level 2: Grievance Officer For YouTube, Google LLC – India

Under the IT (Information Technology) Act 2000, Google LLC, the parent company of YouTube, has designated a Grievance Officer to address concerns related to YouTube disputes. If your complaint lodged at level 1 is not resolved within the given resolution period, then escalate the matter to the Grievance Officer.

The legal issues related to YouTube can be raised for:

• Trademark
• Counterfeit
• Defamation
• Stored music policy
• Copyright
• Abusive/Prohibited Content – nudity
• Impersonation

Please send a written grievance letter or email, including the following necessary details:

1. Reference or ticket number of the previous complaint lodged at level 1.
2. Order ID for the specific payment transaction (if applicable).
3. Reason for dissatisfaction and expected relief.
4. Description of the disputed matter with relevant documents, such as screenshots, bills, links to videos, or any other evidence related to the streamed content or video.

Send your grievance to the Grievance Officer by email at support-in@google.com. For complaints related to the YouTube services, you can contact Google LLC – India at:

Have any other legal complaints about YouTube? You can submit an online form for “Other Legal Complaint” to the respective Legal Department of Google LLC. Choose India for the disputes related to Indian jurisdiction.

Still, not resolved to your satisfaction by YouTube (Google LLC)?

You may register a complaint against YouTube to these authorities.

1. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB)

For complaints related to digital content, videos, and streamed shows, movies, or TV programmes that are not addressed by YouTube support actively, you may lodge a public grievance to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India through CPGRAMS.

2. Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Consumer Forum)

If the disputed matter involves monetary losses that violate your consumer rights or want to get compensated for the loss from Google LLC – India, you should file a consumer complaint to these authorities.

• Register an informal complaint to the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)
• File a formal consumer complaint to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) – Consumer Court/Forum

3. Take Legal Action

Finally, if you are not satisfied with the final resolution, consult with a legal expert to know the available legal remedies. You may choose to take legal action against Google LLC for YouTube in a civil court or higher legal authorities based on the specifics of your case.

Before this must take advice according to the laws and regulations applicable in Indian jurisdiction.

Reference

• YouTube Community Guidelines & Policies (youtube.com)
• Other legal issues – YouTube Help (google.com)
• Legal policies – YouTube Help (google.com)