The Digital Creators' APPG publishes new report. Finds that creators on video sharing platforms play a central role in lowering barriers to education and skills development

• All-Party Group for Digital Creators finds that creators on video sharing platforms  play a central role in lowering barriers to education and skills development
• Government should protect teen’s access to these vital resources on video sharing platforms 
• Creators meet MPs in Westminster as report is launched, and submitted to government

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Digital Creators has found that video content creators play a unique role in lowering barriers to learning, education and skills development. They provide free and accessible tutoring, support neurodiverse learners, and help young people engage with education, hobbies, news and communities. They are a vital resource that are complementary to traditional schooling by helping to bring school lessons to life in new ways.

The group, chaired by former digital ministers Feryal Clark MP and Lord Ed Vaizey, says that the Government should preserve access to high-quality educational and informational content for under-16s, rather than inadvertently restricting it through broad or poorly targeted measures.   

In a new report launched today, the group recommends that the Government should consider distinguishing between social networking, and video sharing platforms often providing vital information, education and cultural content. They point to the evidence provided by professional creators that young people engage with educational, cultural and informational content in a very different way to how they engage with social media, for example often viewing on TV and in family settings. 

Co-chair of the APPG, Feryal Clark MP, said:

“In the last three months, we have taken evidence from a range of creators who have travelled to Westminster from across the UK. Digital creators are producing content that young people genuinely value: content that educates, entertains, builds community and supports wellbeing.

‘The debate around children's online safety is critical, and it must be properly informed. We cannot legislate effectively without understanding what we would be restricting, and who would bear the consequences. High-quality, creator-led video content is a valuable resource; it isn’t social media. That difference is crucial.” 

Co-chair of the APPG, Lord Ed Vaizey said: 

“The creator economy is one of the most dynamic and fast-growing parts of the UK's creative industries. Creators have been able to share with us the real-world influence and impact digital creators are having on young people’s lives. I have been particularly struck by the wealth of high-quality educational output that is available online. 

“The Government must pay careful attention to the nuance across platforms and the substantive benefits that high-quality, creator-led video content provides to millions of young people across the UK.” 

Phil Hughes, Chief Executive of the Digital Creators Association, and Scott Guthrie, Director General for the Influencer Marketing Trade Body

“The decisions made in Parliament over the coming months will shape the digital landscape for the next generation and creators should be part of that. We have held this inquiry to ensure the impact on a growing industry is considered in the wider national debate around social media restrictions, whilst ensuring we listen to the challenges experienced from time online.

“Creators across the UK are forming an entirely new generation of media brands and are only growing in reach and influence. Their positive impact on young people mustn’t be underestimated but, instead, properly reflected as a central part of this debate.” 

Education Creator, Tom Crawford (TomRocksMaths), said: 

“I travelled to London because it’s clear that there has to be some sort of differentiation between educational video libraries and social media. 

“One of my students was really badly bullied at school. From the age of 14 until his admission to Cambridge, he learnt entirely through content like mine hosted on YouTube. He’s not alone; there are so many reasons that a child can’t attend school at different points. Their futures depend on being able to access these vital learning resources.” 

Education Creator, Alexa Polidoro (LearnFrenchWithAlexa), said: 

“My channel brings French to life for students. I have decades of experience in teaching and my online video content helps young people all around the world, whether they want to learn French to pass their exams, pursue their studies overseas, or simply learn a new skill. 

“If they weren’t able to access my content online, this is an opportunity that they simply wouldn’t get.” 

Over the last three months, the group has taken evidence from creators in sectors ranging from education to sport, music, fashion and farming. Their message is clear; they are not social media and have a real and growing role to play in young people’s education, development and wellbeing. 

Notes to editors: 

The recommendations of the report are as follows: 

1. Protect young people’s access to quality creator-led content. 

One of the most striking findings of this inquiry was the central role that content creators play in education and skills development. They lower barriers to learning and education for under-16s, provide free and accessible tutoring, support neurodiverse learners, build communities with support right across the education journey, and help young people engage with education in flexible and often highly effective ways. They are a vital resource that is not only complementary to traditional schooling but central to it. 

The Government should ensure that future online safety interventions are designed in ways that preserve access to high-quality educational and informational content for under-16s, rather than inadvertently restricting it through broad or poorly targeted measures.   

An effective way to strike the right balance between online safety and access to educational content is stronger and clearer parental controls.

2. Protect the creator ecosystem as a public good 

Supporting the creation of high-quality creator content is increasingly a matter of public interest. Across the UK, creators are filling critical gaps in education, accessibility, representation and public understanding, producing engaging and accessible material that reaches young people. Creators working across subjects as diverse as science, languages, financial literacy, coding, mental health awareness, music and art are not simply entertainers; many are delivering material with clear educational and social value, supporting young people to understand the world through different voices and experiences, too.

Policy frameworks should recognise the positive externalities generated by creator ecosystems, particularly for young people who may otherwise lack access to these forms of support and information. 

3. Distinguish informational video libraries from social networking sites 

Formally distinguish standalone social networking services from video distribution libraries. Throughout this inquiry, we have heard from content creators whose content is an important educational resource for young people, supporting them in their exams and coursework, as well as giving them access to news and communities of people with like-minded interests. 

Policymaking frequently collapses together platforms, creators and social media as though they are interchangeable, but they are not. Professional creators produce educational, cultural and informational content. Informational video libraries hosting their content should not automatically be treated in the same way as social media platforms themselves. We have heard throughout our inquiry that young people engage very differently with long-form creator-led content to how they engage with social media. 

4. Give creators a voice in the debate 

Creators are a dynamic and rapidly growing part of the UK’s creative industries with the potential to power a new era of innovation, entrepreneurship and cultural influence. They contribute over £2.2 billion to the UK economy and support over 45,000 jobs and yet growth is being hampered by creators too often still absent from policy discussions. This weakens policymaking and risks creating interventions that fail to reflect the full reality of impact and opportunity, as well as how young people actually engage online  We suggest that the Government includes content creators in any ongoing and future policy development. 

5. Develop creator competencies and digital literacy amongst young people 

If the UK is to fully realise the potential of the creator economy, we need greater investment in creator competencies and digital creative skills from the school to the studio. The Government should embed media literacy, AI literacy and creative business fundamentals into England’s Curriculum Review. 

Aspiring young people should be supported to create responsibly and sustainably, including through skills development in editing, storytelling, audience development, digital rights, media literacy and business fundamentals such as invoicing and contracts. This should be viewed not simply as digital literacy but as part of the UK’s future creative, entrepreneurial and economic capability. 

Digital Creators’ APPG

IMTB is co-secretariat to the Digital Creators’ APPG. Co-chaired by Feryal Clark and Lord Vaizey of Didcot the group was formed to champion the digital creator economy and advocate for content creators as a profession in recognition of their profound economic and cultural contributions across the UK. 

The APPG works to remove barriers to growth, helping all UK creators reach their full potential.