YouTube needs a ‘block channel’ option

Google’s algorithm on YouTube that suggests new content to me is great. It quickly gets a feel for the stuff I like to watch and pushes me to similar content by different creators. Before I know it, I’m hooked, spending hours and hours glued to my screen.

However, every now and then, something slips through the cracks. Maybe you watched a political video and now get fed content from creators you’d rather not see. Or, perhaps you watched a video about your favorite sports team, and the algorithm is pushing you towards creators that favor your team’s rival. These kinds of things happen, and YouTube has a nifty way of dealing with it: just hit the three-dot icon next to a video’s title on the Home page and then select “Don’t recommend channel.” Problem solved!

Well, you’d think the problem is solved, but it actually isn’t. All you’ve really done is tell the algorithm that you don’t like that channel and don’t want it recommended anymore. You haven’t actually blocked it, so videos from that channel will still appear in your search feed, among other places on the site.

It’s high time that YouTube truly solved this problem. All it would take is adding a “Block channel” option next to any video on the platform.

Let me give you a real-world example of why I desperately want a “block channel” option on YouTube. I am in the market for a new laptop, and have my eyes set on the 2025 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16. As one would expect, I’ve been watching a ton of YouTube content related to this laptop to get a feel for whether or not it’s worth the money. It starts at a whopping $2,799, so you’d better believe I’m going to be 100% sure it’s what I want before I pull the trigger.

The YouTube algorithm knows I’m looking for Zephyrus G16 content, and is pummeling me with suggestions. One channel, SimplifyTech, has popped up on my home screen a few times now. I watched the first few seconds of their video about the Zephyrus G16, and was horrified to see that this is not a “real” creator’s channel. Instead, it’s a computer’s voice reading a written script (that was most likely generated with AI) with b-roll footage stolen from other creators. As if that wasn’t bad enough, sometimes the information isn’t even accurate. Check out the stills below for proof:

Take special note that the b-roll still shown above — stolen from the incredible HardwareCanucks channel — shows the 2024 Zephyrus G16. Granted, the 2025 model looks very similar, but SimplifyTech couldn’t even steal the right footage.

Anyway, SimplifyTech is pure trash, and I never want to see it again in my search results or anywhere in the app, ever. I successfully ticked the “Don’t recommend channel” option on the home screen, and haven’t seen anything pop up there since. However, the channel still shows up in search results, which is really annoying. Since there’s no “block channel” option on YouTube, there’s nothing I can do about it.

You’re probably thinking that I should report the video. Well, I did do that: I reported it to YouTube as “Spam or misleading” content, which was the most appropriate option available (there was no “AI slop featuring stolen content” option, unfortunately). The kicker is, though, that this doesn’t block the channel either. That video I reported still appears as the third video when I search for Zephyrus G16 content. Third! You would think reporting a video would at least remove it from my feed, specifically, or at the very least downgrade it. But no, it’s still there, very prominently. Meanwhile, I received an automatic email from YouTube saying that it’s looking into my report and will either remove the content, place restrictions on it, or leave it be after “taking a careful look” at it.

That’s not enough, Google. Just let me block it.

It’s no secret that Google is all-in on generative AI. The company can’t stop talking about it. However good its AI might be, there’s no question that AI is at least partially responsible for the genesis of channels like SimplifyTech. As AI gets easier and cheaper to use, there will be a deluge of garbage channels like it all over YouTube. As of right now, there’s nothing you or I can do about it.

If Google allowed us to block channels, though, it would at least let us make our own individual YouTube experiences tolerable. If Google isn’t going to crack down on blatantly unethical (and unhelpful) channels like SimplifyTech, that’s its own fault. But at least let me control what YouTube looks like for myself by allowing me to purge dumpster fires like this and stay focused on the hard-working, real people making YouTube content.

The real kicker here, though, is that I pay for YouTube Premium. Shouldn’t paying YouTube over $20 monthly protect me from channels like SimplifyTech? It’s not an ad, sure, but it’s not valuable content by any stretch of the imagination. Granted, I don’t think a “block channel” tool on YouTube should be locked behind a Premium subscription, but if Google should be out to protect anyone’s best interest here, it should be people like me who are paying for YouTube.

Do you wish YouTube had a “block channel” option? Let me know in the poll at the beginning of this article, and sound off your own thoughts in the comments!