YouTube Reveals $60B Revenue, Olympic Policy Shifts

YouTube's parent company Google revealed that the video platform generated over $60 billion in revenue in 2025, a figure that surpasses streaming rival Netflix, according to BBC Business. This announcement comes as Google focuses on increasing its paid subscriber base.

The $60 billion revenue figure encompasses both advertising revenue and paid subscriptions, marking the first time Google has individually highlighted YouTube's yearly earnings since its acquisition in 2006. Hanna Kahlert, a senior analyst at Midia Research, noted that while the announcement was significant, it was "perhaps not a surprising one," given YouTube's status as "almost infrastructural for digital natives," as reported by BBC Business.

In other news, shop owners and small businesses in Malawi protested against new tax changes, leading to a delay in their implementation, according to The Guardian. Demonstrations across Malawi's four main cities prompted the delay of a new tax regime that business owners claimed would cripple their livelihoods. Thousands of people signed petitions that were presented to tax authorities.

Meanwhile, global sports leaders reached a consensus on new eligibility criteria for transgender athletes, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expecting to announce the new policy within the first half of the year, as reported by Al Jazeera. This would be the first uniform policy adopted by the IOC and international sports federations, applying to major events in dozens of sports, including the Games and world championships.

In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, known for her drum-playing and ties to former US President Donald Trump, called a snap election, according to Sky News. Hundreds of people gathered to see her in Tokyo just before the polls opened.

Finally, protests took place in Milan on the first day of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, with demonstrators expressing concerns about the environmental and economic impact of the Games on the region, according to Euronews. The opening ceremony showcased Italian culture, but criticism was directed at Israel's Olympic team and US Vice President JD Vance.