YouTube CEO talks up the platform economic benefits

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki highlighted the video service’s economic contributions in the midst of regulatory scrutiny over its market power and handling of misinformation.

The world’s largest video site, owned by Alphabet’s Google, has paid more than $30 billion to content creators, artists and media companies in the last three years, Wojcicki wrote in a letter published on Tuesday. YouTube’s ecosystem contributed about $16 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2019, supporting the equivalent of 345,000 full time jobs, she added, citing an Oxford Economics report.

“We’re focused on delivering on our key priorities: growing the creator economy, living up to our responsibilities, helping people learn new skills, and building for the future of YouTube,” Wojcicki wrote. “We’re also committed to working with governments around the world as we face increasingly complicated regulatory issues.”

The company is working to make sure policy makers understand how their decisions impact YouTube’s creators, she added.