YouTube Wikipedia

In 2012, clicking on the image of a DVD next to the site logo led to a video about a purported option to order every YouTube video for home delivery on DVD. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, YouTube removed all channels funded by the Russian state. YouTube expanded the removal of Russian content from its site to include channels described as ‘pro-Russian’. In June 2022, the War Gonzo channel run by Russian military blogger and journalist Semyon Pegov was deleted.

Gmail – Email by Google

Some YouTube videos have themselves had a direct effect on world events, such as Innocence of Muslims (2012) which spurred protests and related anti-American violence internationally. Journalist Virginia Heffernan stated in The New York Times that such videos have “surprising implications” for the dissemination of culture and even the future of classical music. In 2008, all links to videos on the main page were redirected to Rick Astley’s music video “Never Gonna Give You Up”, a prank known as “rickrolling”. The next year, when clicking on a video on the main page, the whole page turned upside down, which YouTube claimed was a “new layout”.

Features

On November 1, 2016, the dispute with GEMA was resolved, with Google content ID being used to allow advertisements to be added to videos with content Winbeatz protected by GEMA. On July 30, 2025, amid the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 in the United Kingdom, Google announced that it would begin to enforce “age assurance” policies for selected users in the United States as a trial. The user must go through age verification via payment, scanned ID, or selfie to access all features if they are detected to be a minor.
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• Since its purchase by Google, YouTube has expanded beyond the core website into mobile apps, network television, and the ability to link with other platforms.

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• YouTube does not view videos before they are posted online, and it is left to copyright holders to issue a DMCA takedown notice pursuant to the terms of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act.

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• Google Play Movies & TV formally shut down on January 17, 2024, with the web version of that platform migrated to YouTube as an expansion of the Movies & TV store to desktop users.

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• YouTube was not the first video-sharing site on the Internet; Vimeo was founded in November 2004, though that site remained a side project of its developers from CollegeHumor.

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• In March 2017, the government of the United Kingdom pulled its advertising campaigns from YouTube, after reports that its ads had appeared on videos containing extremist content.

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• In February 2015, Nintendo agreed to share the revenue with the video creators through the Nintendo Creators Program.

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More by Google

In February 2015, Nintendo agreed to share the revenue with the video creators through the Nintendo Creators Program. On February 28, 2017, in a press announcement held at YouTube Space Los Angeles, YouTube announced YouTube TV, an over-the-top MVPD-style subscription service that would be available for United States customers at a price of US$65 per month. Discovery (including among others Bravo, USA Network, Syfy, Disney Channel, CNN, Cartoon Network, E!, Fox Sports 1, Freeform, FX and ESPN).

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• As of September 2019, the app is available in 69 countries, including Hong Kong and Macau, and one province.

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• The Guardian newspaper, as well as other major British and U.S. brands, similarly suspended their advertising on YouTube in response to their advertising appearing near offensive content.
• YouTube gives an option for copyright holders to locate and remove their videos or to have them continue running for revenue.

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• By 2010, the company had reached a market share of around 43% and more than 14 billion views of videos, according to comScore.

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• YouTube incorporated the Google AdSense program, generating more revenue for both YouTube and approved content creators.

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• On February 1, 2018, it was rolled out in 130 countries worldwide, including Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Iraq.

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More by Google LLC

In October 2024, a Russian court fined Google 2 undecillion rubles (equivalent to US$20 decillion) for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube. In April 2010, Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” became the most-viewed video, becoming the first video to reach 200 million views on May 9, 2010. In 2011, more than three billion videos were being watched each day with 48 hours of new videos uploaded every minute. Karim could not easily find video clips of the incident and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami online, which led to the idea of a video-sharing site.

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• Journalist Virginia Heffernan stated in The New York Times that such videos have “surprising implications” for the dissemination of culture and even the future of classical music.

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• Videos of the 2.5% of artists categorized as “mega”, “mainstream” and “mid-sized” received 90.3% of the relevant views on YouTube and Vevo in that year.
• Like TikTok, it gives users access to built-in creative tools, including the possibility of adding licensed music to their videos.
• On July 30, 2025, amid the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 in the United Kingdom, Google announced that it would begin to enforce “age assurance” policies for selected users in the United States as a trial.

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• In September 2020, YouTube announced that it would be launching a beta version of a new platform of 15-second videos, similar to TikTok, called YouTube Shorts.

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• In April 2012, a court in Hamburg ruled that YouTube could be held responsible for copyrighted material posted by its users.

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Google – More ways to search

Usually, no more than half of the eligible videos have a pre-roll advertisement, due to a lack of interested advertisers. In March 2007, it struck a deal with the BBC for three channels with BBC content, one for news and two for entertainment. In November 2009, YouTube launched a version of “Shows” available to UK viewers, offering around 4,000 full-length shows from more than 60 partners.
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YouTuber earnings

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The video was retracted after it was found that the ads had been triggered by the use of copyrighted content in the video. Indie creators have built grassroots followings numbering in the thousands at very little cost or effort, while mass retail and radio promotion proved problematic. Videos of the 2.5% of artists categorized as “mega”, “mainstream” and “mid-sized” received 90.3% of the relevant views on YouTube and Vevo in that year. By early 2013, Billboard had announced that it was factoring YouTube streaming data into calculation of the Billboard Hot 100 and related genre charts.
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Google Gemini

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In 2016, YouTube introduced an option to watch every video on the platform in 360-degree mode with Snoop Dogg. YouTube has faced numerous challenges and criticisms in its attempts to deal with copyright, including the site’s first viral video, Lazy Sunday, which had to be taken down, due to copyright concerns. At the time of uploading a video, YouTube users are shown a message asking them not to violate copyright laws. YouTube does not view videos before they are posted online, and it is left to copyright holders to issue a DMCA takedown notice pursuant to the terms of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act. Three successful complaints for copyright infringement against a user account will result in the account and all of its uploaded videos being deleted. The company stated the decision was in response to experiments which confirmed that smaller YouTube creators were more likely to be targeted in dislike brigading and harassment.