In short: The dislike count will be private across YouTube, but the dislike button will remain.
From YouTube official blog:
Earlier this year, we experimented with the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks — where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos.
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We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior — and our experiment confirmed that this does occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels.
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Based on what we learned, we're making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today.
...
We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves.
Full post:
From YouTube official blog:
Earlier this year, we experimented with the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks — where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos.
...
We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior — and our experiment confirmed that this does occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels.
...
Based on what we learned, we're making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today.
...
We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves.
Full post:
An update to dislikes on YouTube
Discover why the updated video dislike button on YouTube will remain public for viewers but the dislike count will be private for creators
blog.youtube