YouTube CEO Attacks Article 13 In Letter To Creators As ‘A Threat To Your Livelihood’

YouTube CEO Susan Wojicki told the platform's creators and artists today that the European Union's Article 13, which is well on its way to becoming law, will kill the internet as they know it and severely damage their ability to earn money on the platform. 

Every quarter, the YouTube CEO sends a letter to creators, updating them on priorities and progress made over the past months. In Monday’s letter, Wojicki also shared a very strong stance on EU Article 13 copyright legislation. It marks the first time she has been so vocal in opposition to the legislation which owner Google and many other tech companies have opposed from the outset. Most music industry trade groups and companies support the legislation. 

75% Channel Growth, Reduced Subscriber Threshold

Wojicki also shared that the number of YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers has increased by 75%. YouTube is now opening memberships to more channels by lowering the subscriber threshold from 100,000 to 50,000 subscribers, and plans to expand memberships more in the coming months.

One billion people use YouTube each month, and that number continues to grow helped by the  recent expansion of YouTube Music to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Brazil. 

"a threat to both your livelihood and your ability to share your voice with the world"

"This growing creative economy is at risk, as the EU Parliament voted on Article 13, copyright legislation that could drastically change the internet that you see today," wrote Wojicki ."Article 13 threatens to shut down the ability of millions of people – from creators like you to everyday users – to upload content to platforms like YouTube.  It threatens to block users in the EU from viewing content that is already live on the channels of creators everywhere."

"This legislation poses a threat to both your livelihood and your ability to share your voice with the world. And, if implemented as proposed, Article 13 threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs, European Creators, businesses, artists and everyone they employ." she continued. "The proposal will force platforms, like YouTube, to prioritize content from a small number of large companies. The burden of copyright proof will be too high for most independent creators to instantly demonstrate."

"There is a better way forward for copyright online." she concluded, "but it’s critical you speak up now as this decision may be finalized by the end of the year."

The letter also updated creators on existing YouTube initiatives and priorities which include greater transparency, improved monetization and new avenues for discovery.