To: The DeviantArt Administration and Moderation Team

We, the members and creators of the DeviantArt community, are writing to formally request a policy update regarding account moderation, permanent bans, and content ownership. Specifically, we ask that DeviantArt establish a method allowing users whose accounts have been permanently banned to transfer or re-upload their old, completely rule-compliant content to a new profile without this action being automatically classified as "ban evasion."

Currently, when a DeviantArt account is permanently banned, the user loses access to their entire gallery. Under the existing terms, creating a new account to continue sharing art—even if that art fully complies with community guidelines—is treated as ban evasion, leading to an immediate secondary ban.

While we recognize and support the need to penalize accounts that violate platform rules, the current "all-or-nothing" approach permanently locks away benign creative work. This policy punishes artists disproportionately, strips them of their portfolio history, and discourages reform.

We propose the following policy changes:

A Path for Content Recovery: Allow users to request an archive of their rule-compliant artwork or permit the re-uploading of past work that did not contribute to the original ban.

Conditional New Accounts: Define a clear distinction between a malicious user evading a ban to repeat bad behavior, and an artist starting over with a new profile while respecting community guidelines.

Selective Moderation: Focus ban enforcement on the specific behavior and content that violated the terms, rather than permanently blacklisting the artist’s entire creative identity and past compliant work. Artists spend years building portfolios, using and improving their skills, and contributing to the cultural fabric of DeviantArt. We believe in accountability, but we also believe in a system that protects creative property and allows artists a fair chance to start over.

Rule-Compliant Asset Recovery: Allow users whose accounts have been terminated to request a downloadable archive or a direct gallery transfer of content that explicitly adheres to DeviantArt's Etiquette and Terms of Service.

Selective Filtering: Content that directly triggered the account termination can remain permanently deleted or restricted, but unoffending work should be eligible for migration to a newly established, compliant profile.

Manual or Verified Appeals for Data Migration: Create a designated support channel where creators can appeal not just for account reinstatement, but alternatively for the authorization to transfer their lawful portfolios.

Protection of Intellectual Property: Acknowledge that while DeviantArt has the right to refuse service and terminate access to its platform features, artists retain the inherent rights to their rule-compliant creations and should be permitted a pathway to salvage their digital legacies.

Other major platforms have successfully installed mechanisms to protect and preserve user-made content, respecting the creators’ rights while maintaining the platform’s integrity. DeviantArt could adopt a similar approach and prevent penalization for non-existent infractions.

It is time for DeviantArt to join other community-centric digital forums by developing a fair solution. A compensation or mediation route for users with verified claims to their artworks can ensure that this community remains thriving and healthy for both present and future artists.

By signing this petition, you are supporting the countless artists who seek protection and fair treatment of their intellectual property on DeviantArt. Let us stand together to demand that DeviantArt acknowledge the legitimate rights of its users and implement a system allowing the recovery of rule-abiding art without unfair penalties. Please sign today to support this essential change and to preserve the creative spirit of DeviantArt's vibrant art community.

Artists invest decades of their lives into building their portfolios on DeviantArt. Punishing an entire lifetime of compliant work due to an isolated violation or an automated bot error is disproportionate and deeply harmful to the creative community.

By reforming this policy, DeviantArt can maintain its right to moderate its community safely while still respecting the time, effort, and ownership rights of the digital artists who use the platform.
Sign this petition to demand that DeviantArt respects digital creators and establishes a fair policy for transferring rule-compliant content!