SAN BRUNO, Calif. — In an open letter on YouTube’s blog on Tuesday, company CEO Susan Wojcicki said the video-sharing service has paid out more than US$30 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the last three years.
Wojcicki also said YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed approximately US$16 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2019, while supporting the equivalent of 345,000 full-time jobs in the U.S., referencing an Oxford Economics report.
Her letter outlines YouTube’s priorities for 2021, which include “growing the creator economy, living up to our responsibilities, helping people learn new skills, and building for the future of YouTube. We’re also committed to working with governments around the world as we face increasingly complicated regulatory issues,” she wrote.
Some of the legislation Wojcicki refers to are the European Union’s recently introduced Digital Services Act (“that could have major implications for online speech,” she says) and the EU’s copyright directive, Article 17 (previously Article 13).
“We’re also working with governments like the United Kingdom as they consider legislation to take on harmful content,” she writes. “This year, we’ll continue to advocate on behalf of creators and work closely with governments to make sure policymakers understand the potential impact their decisions could have on all of you.”
To read the full letter, please click here.
