Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, is on a mission to get Congress to develop policies to nurture and harness one of the world’s newest economic engines: the more than 70 million people who earn money by creating content online.
“Since the pandemic, a lot of people, when they were at home, had their computers, they had their cell phones, and they actually started entering the market,”
“In fact [the content creator space] had 165 million new creators globally since the pandemic in 2020.” Van Duyne told the John Solomon Reports podcast recently. “In fact [the content creator space] had 165 million new creators globally since the pandemic in 2020.”
Earlier this month, Van Duyne and Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., launched the Congressional Creators Caucus, a bipartisan effort to promote the digital creator community, which they estimated at more than 70 million people in America alone.
Van Duyne said in a statement that the purpose of the caucus was “to allow more Americans to follow their dreams, build their own small businesses, and share their unique perspectives with the world.”
She said she expects the content creator space to grow even bigger and contribute even more to the economy.
“The global creator content, I think, was valued at some point at $250 billion in 2024. But that’s projected to reach $480 billion by 2027, and the U.S. makes up about a third of that market,” Van Duyne told Solomon.
She acknowledged that many lawmakers don’t understand the content creative space and want to learn more about important aspects of it, such as data and privacy to benefit those in it.
“We’re talking about adding on bills that have to do with data, data privacy, platform transparency, and yet a number of us don’t even understand this market at all,” Van Duyne said.
Digital entrepreneurs face challenges when building businesses and Van Duyne said she wanted creators to be able to help lawmakers understand the market and how best to assist them.
“The idea behind this is to give them a platform to be able to share with us what they do, how important it is, and what we as Congress need to do to make sure that they can keep being innovative,” she said. “They can keep driving this economy without the law of unintended consequences where you pass policy.”
The caucus is meant to support individuals who make their living on platforms like YouTube, Rumble and various social media outlets.
“The creator economy is a powerful economic engine in the United States, making significant contributions to GDP and job growth,” Senior Director of YouTube Government Affairs & Public Policy Alexandra Veitch said in a statement. “Creators are building business, growing audiences, and sharing their voices online.
“We are thankful to Representatives Clarke and Van Duyne for launching the Congressional Creators Caucus and look forward to continuing the work to support the growing creator ecosystem.”
