It's not certain if YouTube will let users re-upload videos without the ads. The promos aren't strictly illegal, but they do violate YouTube's ad policies.

Not surprisingly, those affected are upset. In some cases, they've lost months' worth of video in a heartbeat. They've also complained that YouTube didn't do enough to communicate its policies on ads like these, although that argument only hold so much water given that EduBirdie was clearly intended for cheating.

YouTube has promised changes: it'll be "working with creators going forward" to help them understand that these ads aren't acceptable. It still faces an uphill battle, though. It's not easy to detect baked-in ads like this, as they often vary significantly from video to video -- unlike music, YouTube can't just scan for familiar cues. Moreover, many video creators don't fully understand policies even when content is potentially illegal. It could be a long, long while before unscrupulous ads become a rarity.