Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: YouTube on Wednesday said it had fixed a technical problem that briefly disrupted access to the video-sharing platform worldwide, after outage-tracking website Downdetector reported widespread complaints.&nbsp;According to the company, a glitch in its recommendation system prevented videos from appearing across different <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/youtube-to-match-openai-with-ai-likeness-feature" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube services</a>.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/6d8b2039-0748-4b29-893f-81b051461168.png" style="width: 1000px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&ldquo;The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved, and all of our platforms &mdash; YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids and TV &mdash; are back to normal,&rdquo; YouTube said in a statement.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/16a0173b-84a0-4163-b7c2-9af5a9d2c47a-Screenshot 2026-02-18 135053.png" alt="Screenshot 2026-02-18 135053.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 1000px;"></figure>At the height of the disruption, more than 320,000 users in the United States reported problems, Downdetector data showed. The tracking website noted that its figures are based on user submissions, and the actual number of affected users may differ.&nbsp;Service interruptions were also reported in several countries, including India, Britain, Australia and Mexico.&nbsp;YouTube remains one of the world&rsquo;s largest digital platforms. By early 2025, it had more than 2.5 billion global viewers, while subscribers to its music and premium services reached 100 million, according to data from market research firm Statista.&nbsp;Google has said users watch over one billion hours of YouTube content daily on television screens alone, while more than 500 hours of video are uploaded to the platform every minute.&nbsp;Industry analysts often describe Google&rsquo;s 2006 acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock as a landmark deal that merged Google&rsquo;s search and advertising strength with a rapidly growing video community.

Gadgets

YouTube remains one of the world’s largest digital platforms. By early 2025, it had more than 2.5 billion global viewers, while subscribers to its music and premium services reached 100 million, according to Statista.

YouTube restores services after global disruption

SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube announced plans on Wednesday to allow its users this year to create AI versions of themselves for video sharing, matching a feature from Sora, the video-creation app from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.&nbsp;&quot;AI will be a boon to the creatives who are ready to lean in,&quot; CEO Neal Mohan wrote in an annual letter outlining the platform&#39;s priorities for 2026.&nbsp;The Google-owned video platform sees AI as the next transformative technology for content creation, comparing it to earlier innovations like the music synthesizer and Photoshop.&nbsp;More than one million channels used YouTube&#39;s AI creation tools daily in December, according to the company.&nbsp;Mohan said YouTube plans to dramatically expand artificial intelligence tools for its creators this year, including allowing them to produce games from simple text prompts.&nbsp;The ability to generate short videos using your own likeness would follow Sora&#39;s cameo feature, which was launched last year by OpenAI and allows users to insert their likeness and voice into AI-generated videos.&nbsp;Google and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/openai-introducing-ads-to-chatgpt" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">OpenAI</a>&nbsp;are caught in an intense AI rivalry, with the search engine giant pushing out generative AI abilities to products such as Gmail and Maps, as well as promoting its Gemini chatbot, a competitor to ChatGPT.&nbsp;In an email to AFP, Google said it would release more details about the feature soon.&nbsp;In his letter, Mohan insisted that &quot;AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement&quot; for human creators.&nbsp;This addressed growing concerns about AI-generated content quality and authenticity as well as fears about the long-term survival of creative industries in the face of the technology.&nbsp;The platform will require creators to disclose altered or synthetic content and plans to give them tools to manage unauthorized use of their likeness in AI-generated videos.&nbsp;Mohan said YouTube is also building systems to combat &quot;AI slop&quot; -- low-quality automated content -- by adapting existing anti-spam and clickbait measures.&nbsp;The video service has been the top streaming platform by watch time in the United States for nearly three years, according to Nielsen data. Its short-form video feature, Shorts, now averages 200 billion daily views.

Artificial Intelligence

YouTube plans to let creators generate AI videos using their own likeness, expanding AI tools while requiring disclosure, combating low-quality content, and positioning AI as a creative aid amid rivalry with OpenAI this year globally.

YouTube to match OpenAI with AI likeness feature

LOS ANGELES: The Oscars will be available to watch exclusively on YouTube from 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.&nbsp;The new multi-year deal means Hollywood&#39;s most prestigious awards ceremony will be viewable only on streaming for the first time, ending a decades-long relationship with US broadcaster ABC.&nbsp;&quot;We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,&quot; Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said in a statement.&nbsp;The annual Academy Awards, which celebrate the year&#39;s top achievements in film and draw the world&#39;s biggest A-list stars to a Hollywood theater, are regularly watched by around 20 million Americans and millions more globally.&nbsp;ABC&#39;s latest contract to broadcast the show had been due to end in 2028, with the 100th Academy Awards. The Disney-owned channel will continue to air the Oscars up until then.&nbsp;But the new deal with Google-owned YouTube represents a radical new direction for the show, and an industry that has long been wary about the impact of streamers on cinema.&nbsp;Hollywood has endured a challenging contraction in recent years, as it grapples with younger generations&#39; changing viewing habits.&nbsp;The most recent Oscars were viewed by 19.69 million people, a figure boosted by the ceremony being shown live simultaneously on Disney&#39;s streamer Hulu along with ABC for the first time.&nbsp;Disney said the broadcast was the most-watched Oscars in five years, although the Hulu stream was beset by technical glitches that left some viewers unable to see the final prizes.&nbsp;During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank as low as 10.4 million.&nbsp;The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just a decade ago

From 2029, the Oscars will stream exclusively on YouTube under a multi-year deal, ending ABC’s decades-long broadcast role after 2028, reflecting Hollywood’s shift toward streaming as TV ratings decline and changing viewing habits worldwide audiences.

Oscars to stream exclusively on YouTube from 2029: Academy

ISLAMABAD: Disney&rsquo;s television networks, including ESPN, ABC, FX, National Geographic, and Disney Channel, have gone dark on Google&rsquo;s YouTube TV after the two companies failed to reach a new licensing deal on Friday.&nbsp;The blackout was announced by YouTube TV on X, means subscribers will lose access to popular Disney-owned channels such as Disney Channel, Freeform, and the sports-heavy ESPN lineup, which features NFL, NBA, and college football games. Both companies said negotiations are continuing, but neither indicated when programming might return.&nbsp;YouTube TV said on Twitter, &lsquo;Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV. This means you will no longer be able to watch channels like ABC and ESPN or access recordings from these networks in your Library.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1984097065975345571&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=a7720b4d6b6bf476034509171e38f12031c03db3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 475px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>In another post, the company added, &ldquo;We know how disruptive it is to lose channels you enjoy, and we&rsquo;re committed to continuing to work with Disney to reach an agreement. If their content is unavailable for an extended period, we&#39;ll offer our members a $20 credit.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"> </div></div>YouTube TV, said Disney&rsquo;s proposed terms would raise prices for its customers while benefiting Disney&rsquo;s own live TV services, such as Hulu + Live TV. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll not agree to terms that disadvantage our members,&rdquo; the platform stated.&nbsp;Disney, meanwhile, accused Google of using its market dominance to &ldquo;eliminate competition and undercut industry-standard terms,&rdquo; while expressing hope for a swift resolution.&nbsp;

Several Disney networks including ESPN, ABC, FX and Nat Geo were removed from YouTube TV after negotiations failed. YouTube said Disney’s terms would raise customer prices, while Disney accused Google of abusing its market power.

Disney networks go dark on YouTube TV after talks collapse

BRUSSELS: The EU Friday demanded digital giants including Snapchat and YouTube explain how they are protecting children from online harm, as member states explore restricting minors&#39; access to social media at a European level. The European Union has stringent rules regulating the digital space, including what children should be able to see, but there is increasing concern that more needs doing to tackle the issue. Inspired by Australia&#39;s social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is analyzing whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc after several states, including France and Spain, pushed for limits on minors&#39; access to platforms. Digital Services Act&nbsp;Europe&#39;s biggest weapon for ensuring platforms tackle illegal content and keep children safe online is the Digital Services Act, which has sparked censorship claims from the US tech sector and retaliation threats from President Donald Trump. Now, as part of &quot;investigative actions&quot; under the DSA, the European Commission has sent a request for information to Snapchat about what steps it is taking to prevent access for children under 13. The commission has also asked Apple&#39;s App Store and the Google Play marketplace to provide details on measures taken to prevent children downloading illegal or harmful apps -- for example, those with gambling services or sexual content. The EU wants to know in particular how Apple and Google stop children downloading tools to create non-consensual sexualized content as well as how they apply apps&#39; age ratings. &quot;Privacy, security and safety have to be ensured, and this is not always the case, and that&#39;s why the commission is tightening the enforcement of our rules,&quot; tech chief Henna Virkkunen said before EU ministers met in Denmark. A request for information can lead to probes and even fines, but does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment. Winds of change&nbsp;Regarding Snapchat, Brussels wants to know how the messaging app stops users from buying drugs and vapes, a claim echoed by Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen on Friday. It also wants YouTube to provide details on its recommender system, &quot;following reporting of harmful content being disseminated to minors&quot;, the commission said.The demands are not the first under the DSA. The EU is also probing Meta&#39;s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children. In a parallel push on child protection, EU telecoms ministers will Friday discuss age verification on social media and what steps they can take to make the world online safer for minors. They are expected to agree on a joint statement backing EU chief Ursula von der Leyen&#39;s plans to study a potential bloc-wide digital majority age, according to a draft document seen by AFP. Ban on social media&nbsp;Von der Leyen has voiced personal support for such a move, and said last month she would establish an experts&#39; panel &quot;to assess what steps make sense&quot; at the EU level. Denmark, in charge of the rotating six-month EU presidency, has been pushing the bloc to take more collective action through new rules. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday Denmark planned to introduce a ban on social media for children under the age of 15. France already has a law requiring parental consent for social media users under the age of 15.

Viral

The EU is pressuring tech giants such as Apple, Snapchat, and YouTube to explain how they protect children online, amid rising concerns and proposals for age restrictions and stricter enforcement under the Digital Services Act.

EU grills Apple, Snapchat, YouTube over risks to children

BOGOTA: The YouTube account of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro&nbsp;was offline Saturday, with Venezuelan state-run channel Telesur claiming in a message on X that it was &ldquo;eliminated&rdquo; late the previous night without justification.&nbsp;YouTube&rsquo;s parent company Google did not immediately respond to questions on the apparent termination of the Venezuelan president&rsquo;s account. It comes amid rising tensions between Venezuela and the United States over the deployment of American warships and fighter jets in the southern Caribbean.&nbsp;Maduro&rsquo;s YouTube account had more than 200,000 followers before it became unavailable on Friday and was used to publish the Venezuelan president&rsquo;s speeches, as well as clips from his weekly show on Venezuelan state TV.&nbsp;On its website, YouTube states that it eliminates accounts that commit &ldquo;repeated violations of community guidelines,&rdquo; which include publishing misinformation, hate speech, and content that &ldquo;interferes with democratic processes.&rdquo;&nbsp;Maduro has been widely accused of stealing last year&rsquo;s presidential election in Venezuela, which he lost by a landslide according to tally sheets gathered by hundreds of Venezuelan opposition activists. Venezuela&rsquo;s elections agency, which the ruling socialist party controls, never published tally sheets to support its claim that Maduro won the vote.&nbsp;In 2020, Maduro was indicted by a federal court in New York, where he has been charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine to the United States.&nbsp;&nbsp;Recently, the US doubled a bounty payment for Maduro&rsquo;s capture to $50 million, with White House officials often referring to Maduro as a drug cartel leader who must be brought to justice.&nbsp;While Venezuela continues to sell oil to the United States and take deportation flights, relations between the two nations have worsened with the deployment of eight US warships last month to an area of the southern Caribbean near Venezuela&rsquo;s coast.&nbsp;The Trump administration says the ships, which are fitted with long-range missiles and are also transporting a landing force of 2,000 Marines, are on an anti-drug trafficking mission.&nbsp;But Venezuela&rsquo;s government has described the deployment as an attack on the nation&rsquo;s sovereignty and part of an effort to overthrow Maduro&rsquo;s government.&nbsp;The US flotilla has destroyed three speedboats allegedly carrying drugs so far, according to the White House, killing more than a dozen people on board the small vessels.

Americas

YouTube account of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was offline Saturday, with Venezuelan state-run channel Telesur claiming in a message on X that it was “eliminated”

Articles tagged with "Youtube"

YouTube restores services after global disruption

YouTube to match OpenAI with AI likeness feature

Oscars to stream exclusively on YouTube from 2029: Academy

Disney networks go dark on YouTube TV after talks collapse

EU grills Apple, Snapchat, YouTube over risks to children

Venezuelan president's YouTube account offline as tensions with US escalate