Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Content creators in Uzbekistan have the potential to earn between US$30 million and US$50 million annually through YouTube monetization, which could contribute approximately 0.1% to the country's economic growth.

According to the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR), YouTube’s monetization service is currently available in 108 countries around the world, but in Central Asia, only Kazakhstan has access to the feature.

Uzbekistan’s creative industry is currently made up of around 9,600 enterprises employing approximately 84,000 people. The country’s strategic goal is to increase the share of the creative economy to 5% of GDP by 2030.

CERR’s analysis suggests that enabling YouTube monetization would serve as a powerful driver for the growth of the local advertising market. In 2024, Uzbekistan’s advertising market is projected to reach 2.1 trillion soums, with digital advertising accounting for 29%, outdoor advertising 20%, and television advertising 51%.

Monetization could significantly boost the income of local bloggers, leading to a rise in original content creators and further development of the entire creative sector. However, there are substantial obstacles to implementing this service. One of the main challenges is a legal requirement that mandates the storage of citizens’ personal data exclusively on servers located within the country.

Another major hurdle is the weak protection of intellectual property rights. The widespread distribution of pirated content, including unauthorized copies of films and music, discourages creators from producing original material.

The absence of licensed content distributors for the domestic market further aggravates this issue.

Content moderation also presents a challenge. YouTube’s automated algorithms struggle to recognize the Uzbek language due to its dialectal diversity, which creates a need for collecting audio data, collaborating with Google, and advancing local language technologies to enhance artificial intelligence performance.

In addition, the issue of payment systems remains a barrier. Although Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay are available in Uzbekistan, major international payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe are not operational in the country.

To overcome these challenges, experts recommend modernizing legislation, developing cloud infrastructure, and strengthening international cooperation. These measures could elevate the country’s creative industry to a new level and create favorable conditions for the monetization of digital content.