Transparency Report

Highlights from the YouTube Copyright Transparency Report

We build tools that empower users to access, create, and share information like never before — giving them more choice, opportunity, and exposure to a diversity of viewpoints. Today, billions of logged-in users come to YouTube every month and in 2023, more people created content on YouTube than ever before. YouTube has also given rightsholders opportunities to earn money from both their own and user-generated content through our subscription-based and advertising-supported models.

$70B+
Paid to creators, artists, and media companies over the 3 years prior to January 2024
$9B+
Ad revenue paid to rightsholders as of December 2022 from content claimed and monetized through Content ID

Our Copyright Management Suite: Webform, Copyright Match, and Content ID

All of these tools use technology to prevent the reupload of matching content. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to develop and operate these tools.

Webform
Between July 2023 and December 2023, over 60% of claimants who claimed or requested removal of content through YouTube's Copyright Management Suite did so through the webform.

Copyright Match Tool
As of December 2023, over 3 million channels have access to the tool. It automatically detects copies of their content uploaded to other channels.

Content ID
Our solution for those with the most complex rights management needs (such as movie studios, record labels, and collecting societies) - over 7,700 partners had access between July 2023 and December 2023. Although they represent the smallest number of users for any of our tools, claims from Content ID partners represent over 99% of all copyright actions on YouTube, totalling over 1 billion claims between July 2023 and December 2023. Between July 2023 and December 2023, rightsholders chose to monetize over 90% of all Content ID claims.

We take steps to prevent abuse or otherwise invalid use of our rights management tools.

  • Over 6% of videos requested for removal through the public webform between July 2023 and December 2023 were the subject of abusive copyright removal requests (i.e., these requests were assessed by our team as a likely false assertion of copyright ownership).
  • 10 times higher attempted abuse rate in webform than in copyright removal tools with limited access

We give uploaders the means to assert their rights.

  • Uploaders are empowered to push back on removals they believe are invalid by filing counter notifications, and they can push back on Content ID claims by disputing the claim.
  • Of the 1 billion+ Content ID claims made between July 2023 and December 31, 2023, fewer than 1% have been disputed. Over 65% of those disputes resolved in favor of the uploader, either because claimants voluntarily released the claim or did not respond to the dispute in time.

Learn more at How YouTube Works

Data Collection Note:
All data in this report is collected between July 2023 through December 2023, unless otherwise annotated as below:

† Data collected as a 'snapshot' in April 2024. Some data, like rate of counter notifications and Content ID disputes, look at "trailing" events. We start with the set of claims or removals made during H2 2023, but disputes and counter notifications continue to accrue after that period because they can be made at any time. For instance, a claim made on November 30, 2023 may have a dispute made on April 1, 2024. For these data points, we have chosen to take a snapshot 3 months after the end of H2 2023.

For previous versions of this report covering Jan 1, 2021 through Dec, 31 2022, refer to the PDF Download Center.