YouTube CEO says service has paid $30 billion to creators, artists, and media companies
Service is reportedly responsible for $16 billion of GDP in the US
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YouTube has paid creators, artists, and media organizations more than $30 billion in the last three years, CEO Susan Wojcicki announced in a Tuesday newsletter.
In the letter, Wojcicki highlighted an Oxford Economics report saying the video hosting service contributed around $16 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2019, while supporting the equivalent of 345,000 jobs.
FILE: The YouTube app on an iPad in Baltimore. (AP)
Wojcicki noted that the Google-owned company still has room to improve in communicating its new policy guidelines, especially when it concerns strikes affecting advertising dollars.
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She said with YouTube operating at the scale it does, it’s difficult for creators to keep up with changing community guidelines. She cited one example of a creator, Charlie White from the channel penguinz0, who was given a strike for an older video due to a new policy.
“We take these issues seriously, and we’re making changes this year to help creators,” Wojcicki said.
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To address these types of mattes, Wojcicki said, YouTube will work to improve transparency in its policies, offer more support for creators, and improve the appeal process for creators.
The letter comes amid mounting pressure on the company to crack down on misinformation both within and outside the United States.
“We’re always working to strike the right balance between openness and responsibility as we meet the guidelines set by governments around the world,” Wojcicki said.
Wojcicki addressed reforming Section 230 – a piece of the Communications Decency Act – which would allow social media platforms to operate without being liable to the types of content their users post.
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“Both sides of the political spectrum are interested in modifying it, but there are diametrically opposed views on the problem and a lack of consensus on what should be done,” Wojcicki said.