YouTube is a popular American video-sharing website owned by Google.
YouTube 是一个受欢迎的美国视频分享网站，隶属于谷歌。
It was created on February 14, 2005, by three former PayPal employees — Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen.
它由三位前 PayPal 员工——查德·赫尔利、贾维德·卡里姆和史蒂夫·陈——于 2005 年 2 月 14 日创建。
The company’s headquarters is in San Bruno, California.
公司总部位于加利福尼亚州圣布鲁诺。
Today, YouTube is the second most-visited website in the world, right after Google.
如今，YouTube 是世界上访问量第二大的网站，仅次于谷歌。
As of early 2024, it had around 2.7 billion monthly users who together watched over one billion hours of video every day.
截至 2024 年初，它每月约有 27 亿用户，每天观看超过十亿小时的视频。
YouTube was officially launched on April 23, 2005.
YouTube 于 2005 年 4 月 23 日正式上线。
In November 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion, which would be about $2.39 billion in 2024 value.
2006 年 11 月，谷歌以 16.5 亿美元收购了 YouTube，按 2024 年的价值约为 23.9 亿美元。
After this purchase, YouTube became part of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.
收购后，YouTube 成为谷歌母公司 Alphabet Inc. 的一部分。
Google helped YouTube grow from just showing ads into a full business with paid services.
谷歌帮助 YouTube 从单纯的广告展示平台成长为一个拥有多种付费服务的完整业务。
These include movie rentals, YouTube Premium (for ad-free videos), YouTube Music, YouTube Kids, and YouTube TV.
这些服务包括电影租赁、无广告版 YouTube Premium、YouTube Music、YouTube Kids 和 YouTube TV。
YouTube also uses Google AdSense, which lets content creators earn money from ads shown on their videos.
YouTube 还使用谷歌的 AdSense 系统，让创作者通过视频广告赚钱。
By 2023, YouTube made around $31.7 billion from ads, slightly higher than the $31.1 billion made in 2022.
到 2023 年，YouTube 的广告收入约为 317 亿美元，比 2022 年的 311 亿美元略高。
Between late 2023 and mid-2024, YouTube’s total income from both ads and subscriptions went beyond $50 billion.
到 2023 年底至 2024 年中，YouTube 的广告和订阅总收入超过 500 亿美元。
This made YouTube one of Google’s biggest money-makers.
这使 YouTube 成为谷歌最赚钱的业务之一。
The site has expanded from computers to mobile apps and smart TVs, connecting easily with other platforms.
该网站已从电脑扩展到手机应用和智能电视，并与其他平台轻松连接。
YouTube hosts almost every kind of video — music videos, short clips, news, movies, documentaries, vlogs, trailers, live streams, and more.
YouTube 涵盖几乎所有类型的视频——音乐视频、短片、新闻、电影、纪录片、视频日志、预告片、直播等。
Most videos come from individuals or small creators, while large media companies also use YouTube to reach global audiences.
大多数视频来自个人或小型创作者，而大型媒体公司也利用 YouTube 触达全球观众。
People known as “YouTubers” can earn money, fame, and careers through their videos, sometimes becoming global celebrities.
被称为 “YouTuber” 的人可以通过视频赚钱、成名，甚至成为全球名人。
By 2019, more than 500 hours of video were being uploaded every minute.
到 2019 年，每分钟上传的视频超过 500 小时。
By mid-2024, there were about 14.8 billion videos on the platform.
到 2024 年中，平台上大约有 148 亿个视频。
YouTube has had a massive cultural influence — shaping internet trends, music, entertainment, and even politics.
YouTube 产生了巨大的文化影响——塑造了网络潮流、音乐、娱乐，甚至政治。
It has also changed how people learn, communicate, and earn money online.
它也改变了人们学习、交流和在线赚钱的方式。
However, YouTube has faced many criticisms.
然而，YouTube 也面临许多批评。
It has been blamed for spreading misinformation, violating copyrights, invading user privacy, and not protecting children from harmful content.
它被指责传播错误信息、侵犯版权、侵犯用户隐私，以及未能保护儿童免受有害内容影响。
Critics also say YouTube sometimes censors too much or applies its rules unfairly.
批评者还认为 YouTube 有时过度审查或不公平地执行规则。
Despite these issues, it remains active and continues to grow worldwide, except in countries where it is blocked.
尽管存在这些问题，它仍然活跃，并在全球范围内持续增长，除非在被封锁的国家。
Today, YouTube is both a social media network and a video platform, serving billions of users globally.
如今，YouTube 既是社交媒体网络，也是视频平台，为全球数十亿用户服务。
It plays a huge role in modern life — entertaining, educating, and connecting people everywhere.
它在现代生活中发挥着巨大作用——娱乐、教育，并让人们保持联系。
But it also faces ongoing challenges in balancing freedom of speech, safety, and business profit.
但它也面临着在言论自由、安全和商业利润之间保持平衡的持续挑战。
