Hi. First time I've been on Discuss Scratch.
So, a friend of mine made this banner contest, and I entered in it. A while later, somebody had reported the project and it was taken down for no reason - the message was saying
“The Scratch Team has removed this project because it appears to reveal or focus on a real person’s physical appearance, which is not only a serious safety issue but can also lead to inappropriate or unhealthy comments. We ask Scratchers not to post photos of themselves or others, because when you share private information like this it is visible to everyone on the internet. So please be careful about what you share online.”
all I added in the project was a singer. I even clearly stated in the Instructions that the person on my banner wasn't me.

Anyways, my question is: Does Scratch Team even check the projects before taking them down? Or do they see the report and automatically take it down?
I'd be happy if anyone responded. Thanks.

–avialan

That sounds like a message which indicates to me that the Scratch Team did in fact look at that project before taking it down. Human Scratch Team members don't remove projects just because someone reported it; they make sure that the project is not appropriate for Scratch, first.

avialan wrote:

"The Scratch Team has removed this project because it appears to reveal or focus on a real person’s physical appearance, which is not only a serious safety issue but can also lead to inappropriate or unhealthy comments.

[…]

all I added in the project was a singer. I even clearly stated in the Instructions that the person on my banner wasn't me.

The bolded statement seems to indicate to me that the Scratch Team is not okay with projects that focus on a real person's appearance, even if that person is not the project creator.

For further information, your friend should use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the website. Here is the link to it, too: https://scratch.mit.edu/contact-us/

Sorry if there is some confusion. Please use the Contact Us button at the bottom of every page if you have a question about a Scratch Team action. Here is the link to it too http://scratch.mit.edu/contact-us/

We do check. The message does state "… We ask Scratchers not to post photos of themselves or others…“.

With pics of famous people, if the photo is of a famous person, we only allow professional/sanctioned photos meant to be shared to the public (such a pic of singer from their latest album cover, or.pic.to be used in a magazine) and disallow personal/non-public photos. If we can't tell the purpose of the photo, or if the pic is being displayed in a manner that feels like it's an overly personal photo, it gets removed.

If you wish to dispute the notification by showing proof it's not a personal photo of a famous person, please use the ”Contact Us" link found at the bottom of the Scratch webpage.