YouTube's Susan Wojcicki commits to 'working with governments around the world' on regulatory issues

 

By Emmanuel Legrand

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said the global regulatory landscape will be an area of "significant focus" in 2021 for the Google-owned video streaming platform, according to a blogpost in which she outlined her priorities for the year.

  For 2021, Wojcicki said YouTube's key areas of focus are: "growing the creator economy, living up to our responsibilities, helping people learn new skills, and building for the future of YouTube." She added that YouTube is also "committed to working with governments around the world as we face increasingly complicated regulatory issues."

  She elaborated: "We’ve benefited from partnerships with governments on critical issues, like preventing violent extremism and coordinated influence operations on our platform. Last year, these partnerships were incredibly helpful as we worked together to provide people with accurate information during the pandemic."

  She added that YouTube will "continue to partner with policymakers on issues that impact our business and workforce, like immigration, education, infrastructure, and healthcare."

Working closely with policy-makers

  She continued: "As we continue these efforts, tech companies are also facing increased scrutiny and regulatory action. In past letters, I raised issues about Article 17 (previously 13), the EU Copyright Directive. Creators speaking out made a significant difference in making the language more workable for creators. Thank you for your help! There are still areas of concern, and we’re working closely with policymakers as European countries turn the legislation into national laws."

  Staying with the European Union, she alluded to the recently-introduced Digital Services Act (DSA) that, according to her, "could have major implications for online speech." She added that YouTube is also working with governments like the United Kingdom "as they consider legislation to take on harmful content."

  Switching to the US, she noted that there has "recently been significant debate on Section 230," which she described as the enabler "to both keep YouTube open and allow a large amount of content on the internet as well as take the actions necessary to protect our platform." While agreeing that "both sides of the political spectrum are interested in modifying it," she pointed out that "there are diametrically opposed views on the problem and a lack of consensus on what should be done."

Advocate on behalf of creators

  She added: "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."

  Overall, she said the YouTube economy "is incredibly healthy and strong, despite the challenges of 2020." The platform has over two billion users, and is expected to post record revenues for 2020. She revealed that during the first quarter of last year, YouTube saw a 25% increase in watch-time around the world and that 2020 was YouTube Gaming's biggest year yet, with over 100 billion hours of gaming content watched on the platform. 

  She also explained that in the first half of the year, total daily livestreams grew by 45%, and that more than half a million channels live streamed for the first time in 2020. "Those first time streamers accounted for more than 10 million streams on the platform," she said. 

  In addition, YouTube's beta testing in India of YouTube Shorts, the platform's answer to TikTok, has received 3.5 billion daily views, according to Wojcicki, who called the figure "impressive."

Keep improving the product

  "More people are creating content on their phones, which is why we’re investing to give creators more video editing tools," she wrote, saying that the new Shorts player, which helps people around the world post and watch short videos on YouTube, will be made available to more markets in 2021. The test started in India in September of last year, allowing users to share videos that are no longer than 15 seconds.

  Wojcicki also revealed that "TV was our fastest growing screen in 2020" with improvements to the "look, feel, and performance of the Living Room app." She added that n 2021 YouTube would continue "to bring YouTube to more living room devices and make voice navigation even better" and "keep improving the product for creators, advertisers, and users."