The future of discovery: Keeping it fair for creators and partners

YouTube has long been a platform where anyone with a creative idea can find a global audience. It's how European creators from all walks of life have built sustainable careers, and why they are now so central to the creative economy.

And their success benefits more than just creators themselves. In fact, YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over €7bn to the EU’s GDP in 2024, while supporting more than 200,000 full-time jobs ¹ . In the UK, it added over £2.2bn GDP and 45,000 jobs in 2024 ² . Creators now run their own studios, employ writers, editors and videographers. They produce top-quality content that entertains, educates and inspires billions around the world, often deepening understanding of European culture.

Europe’s creator economy is a global success story because of one simple idea: on YouTube, viewers decide what they want to watch. All creators have a fair shot. Videos gain engagement because they connect with their audience, not because a gatekeeper chose them.

But new "prominence" rules being discussed in the EU and UK could change this. These rules could force YouTube to give special treatment to a small group of organisations hand-picked by a government. For creators and media companies that are not chosen, the risk is real. By forcing these channels to the front of the line, everyone else gets pushed back, regardless of what viewers actually want to see. This makes it harder for creators to grow an audience and earn a living. If governments start picking the winners, independent creators become the losers.

We believe viewers should decide. We will keep advocating for a fair system where any creator can succeed based on their hard work and the quality of their content.