Scottish Youtuber blocked from video earnings by tech giant’s ‘AI robots’

Scottish outdoors creator Fiona MacBain says she cannot access hundreds of pounds earned from YouTube because Google has been unable to verify her address. The case highlights how repeated postal checks and limited access to human support can leave creators unable to receive revenue from their videos.

MacBain, 55, has more than 300,000 social media followers and posts wild camping videos as “Fiona In The Wild”. Google reportedly sent seven address-verification PINs to her Inverness home over ten months, but none arrived; she earned about £500 before her account was demonetised. After being contacted about the problem, Google said it had identified the issue and contacted her to find a solution.