A Spanish YouTuber is suing Google, the owner of YouTube, after his channel was deprived of advertising revenue in what the UGT union, which supports him in his actions, amounts to “unfair dismissal”.
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“I have no choice but to put YouTube in the dock,” this YouTuber named Jota (@Jota_POV) wrote on social media.
According to the UGT, which is demanding compensation from the YouTuber, the platform had decided to “unilaterally” “demonetize” Jota Pov’s YouTube channel “Ultimo Bastion” (last bastion), following which around 18,000 people deprived him of the Advertising revenue.
“The complaint prepared by the legal services of the UGT was filed against Google Spain, owner of YouTube in the country, for “unjustified dismissal,” the union stated in a press release, which said that an arbitration agreement had failed and the trial is underway will take place on June 26, 2024.
The union hopes to use this process to prove the existence of an “employment relationship between a content creator and Google (Youtube),” as the YouTuber is “dependent” on the platform to receive compensation in exchange for their content.
The most popular YouTubers who have made videos their profession live primarily from advertising revenue.
With this complaint, the UGT says it wants to open a “debate” about “the false independent work and precarity that these tech giants seek to impose by circumventing labor laws.”
Contacted by AFP, Google Spain estimated that the content creators “are not employees of YouTube, contrary to the union’s claims.” The internet giant also assured that it is “deeply involved in the success of its creators, which leads to it sharing the majority of revenues with them.”
Spain led the way in Europe by adopting the so-called “drivers law,” which came into force in August 2021, introducing into Spanish labor law a “presumption of employment” for all couriers using delivery apps such as Uber Eats or Glovo.
Thanks to an agreement between the government, the main Spanish unions and employers, delivery workers have thus become workers who can benefit from the protections that derive from this status.