Media and Telecom Sector

YouTube is offering millions of dollars to popular creators to keep their videos exclusive to the platform for a set period, directly countering Netflix's push to license content from YouTube's biggest stars. The payments take two forms: YouTube will directly finance some programs, or allot creators a share of revenue from major brand deals the platform negotiates with advertisers. YouTube has not finalized any agreements but is close to deals with several partners. The carrot comes with a stick. YouTube has warned creators that those who post videos simultaneously on Netflix risk being excluded from YouTube's marketing campaigns and events, and will lose access to a share of proceeds from certain major brand partnerships. Netflix has already signed creators including Alan Chikin Chow and Nick DiGiovanni to non-exclusive deals allowing simultaneous posting, and remains in talks with dozens of others such as Hot Ones. Netflix's appeal is straightforward: creators earn millions for content they already produce while reaching 325 million subscribers. YouTube's concern is concrete—when a video runs on both platforms at once, the company loses its ability to convince advertisers that the content is exclusive to YouTube, undermining the advertiser pitch that a given audience can only be found there. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan recently reversed his earlier position that outside projects drive viewers back to YouTube, deciding instead that the growing volume of simultaneous posting had become a problem requiring intervention. This marks a sharp shift from YouTube's hands-off creator model of the past two decades, which relied on ad revenue splits; now the platform is individually negotiating show funding more like a studio would. YouTube's 2025 revenue exceeded $60 billion, surpassing Netflix's that year, and the company says it has distributed more than $100 billion to creators over four years.

TikTok and ByteDance agreed to pay $400 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging the platform violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data from users under 13 without parental consent since 2019. The DOJ sued in 2024 after a Federal Trade Commission investigation found that TikTok had knowingly permitted children to create accounts and interact with adults, and continued to do so even after a 2019 settlement with Musical.ly—TikTok's predecessor—required safeguards to prevent underage signups. The company changed registration policies in ways that made it harder to verify user age, and maintained children's data for targeted advertising despite internal warnings about the presence of young users. The settlement does not require TikTok or ByteDance to admit wrongdoing. As part of the deal, TikTok has implemented age-related controls, enhanced parental oversight tools, and additional safeguards for younger users. The agreement comes days after Bloomberg reported that TikTok had intentionally disabled an algorithmic safeguard designed to limit exposure to harmful content for roughly 10% of U.S. users, drawing criticism from lawmakers including Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

X is exploring stablecoin payments for creators, with Circle's USDC among the options under discussion as the platform phases out its Revenue Sharing program in favor of Original Content Rewards. The shift would let X settle creator payouts on public blockchains rather than routing them through fragmented domestic banking networks, a practical advantage for cross-border transfers. No final payment structure, launch timeline, or supported countries have been announced, and critical details—custody, wallet verification, transaction fees, and loss-of-key policies—remain unconfirmed. Creators would need 500 followers and 500,000 impressions from verified accounts over the past three months to qualify; payouts are based on impressions of original posts viewed by Premium users. US tax law requires creators to recognize stablecoin income at fair market value upon receipt. X Money, the platform's payments app for Premium and Premium+ users launched in July, currently relies on traditional banking infrastructure rather than cryptocurrency. Meta has already tested USDC payments to select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, and SpaceX accepts stablecoin payments from Starlink customers for cross-border transactions. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, established federal regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, including reserve, disclosure, and redemption standards for approved issuers.