It’s Monday, and WinRAR wants to remind everyone that licenses really aren’t that expensive. To make its point, the third-party unzipping tool is restocking a $150 handbag that costs five times as much as a license.

PLATFORM RIVALRIES

The rejection: Last month, Meta announced a landmark settlement with a group of state attorneys general. In order to quell legal challenges related to Facebook and Instagram’s effects on youth mental health, Meta agreed to pay about $17 billion—and it’s willing to pay even more if its rivals play along.

That outcome, however, is looking less likely every day.

On Wednesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan led his company as it presented new products and features at its annual Made On event. Then, after he stepped off the stage, he told CNN that YouTube will not be heeding Meta’s request to add a specific set of safety features.

The context: In other words, YouTube isn’t going to adjust its strategy just because one of its competitors said so—and Meta is pushing for a fair number of adjustments.

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are getting a whole host of new safety features, including a “night mode” that restricts youth access during the wee hours of the morning and a toggle that turns off notifications during school hours. Meta sees those measures as a potential “industry standard” and even took out ads urging TikTok and YouTube to follow its lead.

TikTok responded by removing the Meta ads that appeared on its platform. It described the appeals to teen safety as a form of political speech, which put the ads outside of the app’s guidelines.

Mohan, meanwhile, reasoned that the measures that work for one tech giant might not be the right fit for another. “We’re a very different platform,” the YouTube CEO told CNN.

POLICIES & GUIDELINES

The context: For over a decade, mukbang streams have been one of the internet’s greatest curiosities. In Korea, a nationwide loneliness epidemic is believed to be one of the main reasons why mukbang (which literally translates to “eating broadcast”) first blew up online—but it didn’t take long for the trend to reach other countries.

Ten years later, mukbang videos still do big numbers on YouTube and even have their own Twitch category. But the genre has also been linked to health issues and even deaths, triggering protests from human and animal rights activists alike.

One of the most infamous mukbang stories revolves around Nikocado Avocado, who gained more than a hundred pounds after repeatedly binge eating on YouTube.

The crackdown: Cases like Nikocado Avocado’s have convinced some mukbang creators to adopt more responsible eating habits, but they’ve also sparked concerns about imitable patterns of disordered eating within content.

That’s where YouTube comes in. The platform is in the midst of a multi-year quest to limit the amount of eating disorder content available to viewers. It’s cracked down on videos that feature imitable patterns of disordered eating and has deranked those clips within its recommendation algorithm—and mukbang creators in Korea are starting to see the effects.

Eating content creators DietJo and Miso both reported that they had monetization disabled on their respective channels. Many of the videos that triggered that action featured diet tips or depictions of binge eating.

But while some creators might be feeling the impact of YouTube’s crackdown, eating disorder videos are still far too common. A recent study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that one out of every nine videos recommended to new accounts featured harmful tropes related to eating. In the CCDH’s view, YouTube has more to do.

INDUSTRY PROS

The AMA: At VidSummit 2026, Jordan Matter will do something no one else has done before.

He’ll spend the entire day of September 30 sitting in a room at the Irving Convention Center, door open, and answer every question fellow creators throw his way. He hopes people will duck in between VidSummit’s dozens of panels and workshops, and says he’ll be thrilled if a sizable line keeps him there for hours.

The creator: Matter—whose channel has 38 million subscribers and drives over 400 million monthly views with content about his daughter Salish—has been in the YouTube space for 15 years.

He says he was inspired to offer his guidance to up-and-comers because of his own first trips to VidSummit, where he got the chance to talk shop with creators like MrBeast and Airrack. At subsequent editions of the event, Matter found himself in a new position—he was being approached for advice.

The creator has spoken onstage at VidSummit in past years, but says he feels he can contribute more outside the bounds of a 20-minute talk.

He says he feels especially ready to offer advice after recent major developments with his and Salish’s YouTube presence, including Salish winning Favorite Female Creator at the 2025 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, the sold-out launch of her Sephora-carried skincare brand Sincerely Yours, and their content development deal with Netflix.

Matter also hopes other top creators will follow his lead and adopt this format at future VidSummits.

For anyone still hoping to join VidSummit 2026, a limited number of passes are available here. The event will run from September 29 to October 1.

FYI: VidSummit is a Tubefilter partner.

WATCH THIS 👀

The episode: On the latest installment of Creator Upload, host Josh Cohen returns from YouTube’s Made On 2026 event in NYC with a firsthand look at all the major platform announcements.

From custom homepage feeds and TV remote comments to new AI editing tools and voice protection DRM, YouTube’s latest updates are shaking up the status quo for viewers, creators, and advertisers.

Tune into the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for a full breakdown.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.