[elseleigh]

YouTube would die.

Although it generates a large amount of revenue, YouTube's costs are substantially higher. It provides Google with engagement and a prime source of user data, so subsidising it has been an acceptable trade-off for Alphabet. Recent attempts to increase revenue, although partially successful, have shown that the platform is unlikely to pay its own way because universal accessibility is fundamental to YouTube's success; removal of the free level is not a viable option.

[PittleyDunkin]

> It provides Google with engagement and a prime source of user data, so subsidising it has been an acceptable trade-off for Alphabet.

If this is true, why bother with ads? It's completely ruined the platform.

[michaeljx]

They can still sell those data, to Alphabet, Meta, whomever, all of them

[anticensor]

What if the free tier was illegalised by the court order?