This past June, longtime YouTubers MatPat and Stephanie Patrick worked with Democrat and Republican senators to launch the Congressional Creators Caucus, which aims to educate U.S. policymakers about the digital content economy and the videomakers powering it. The effort was supported by YouTube, which for years has run studies showing just how significant of a contribution it makes to the American economy.
Now, YouTube is taking a similar tack in the U.K. It just formed the new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), which it says will “act as a vital bridge between the UK’s creators and Westminster.”
“The new APPG’s mission is to champion the significant social and economic contributions of UK creators while working with policymakers to deepen their understanding of the digital creator economy and advocate effectively for the sector,” YouTube said in a company blog post.
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It added that it formed the APPG based on feedback from the over 10,000 U.K.-based creators who took part in its first Creator Consultation this summer.
YouTube said data from the 2024 Oxford Economics Impact Report shows it contributes over £2.2 billion to the U.K. economy and supports the equivalent of more than 45,000 full-time jobs.
“However, the Consultation revealed that UK creator growth is significantly hampered by a lack of recognition,” it said. “This is compounded by significant gaps in support–including skills, training, funding, studio space, and filming permits–which undermines creators’ ability to innovate, reach new audiences, build their businesses, and support economic growth.”
The APPG is run by creator advocacy orgs Digital Creator Association and Influencer Marketing Trade Body, and is co-chaired by former Digital Ministers Feryal Clark MP and Lord Ed Vaize. It intends to tackle these issues by giving our industry a voice that can communicate directly with the government, and teaching U.K. policymakers about creators and their needs.
YouTube said the APPG will start by taking on “the most pressing challenges,” including securing training and funding opportunities for creators and working on “improvements to filming infrastructure.”
These efforts across both the U.S. and U.K. are in their very early days, so we likely won’t see any significant shift for at least a few months, if not a few years. But creators simply having an educational foothold in governments where many leaders still don’t understand what the internet is or how it functions could lead to good things in terms of tax breaks, career support, and overall recognition of creators’ ever-growing power–and their unique needs.
