The introduction of EU's Digital Market Directive, especially the so‐called Article 13, caused a lot of controversy. A varied assembly of actors protested, including Internet activists, academics, NGO's such as Wikipedia, and owners of platforms for user generated content. They feared regulations would stifle the distribution of user generated content. Much of the protests revolved around the hashtag #saveyourinternet. In this article, we study the active role YouTube took in mobilizing protests to regulatory changes. Drawing on Platform Studies and Actor‐Network Theory, we aim at eliciting Big Tech's overt and covert strategies when they face new legal regulations effecting the rules of the market in which they operate. We problematize how YouTube enacts sources of power in the network society. Indeed, the most important driver of the #saveyourinternet campaign owned the network in which it spread. The article is a contribution to the on‐going discussion of Big Tech's influence on democratic decision‐making.

中文翻译：

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拯救您的互联网！ YouTube在欧盟数字市场指令争议中的说服工作


欧盟数字市场指令的出台，尤其是所谓的第13条，引起了很大争议。各种各样的参与者抗议，包括互联网活动家、学者、维基百科等非政府组织以及用户生成内容平台的所有者。他们担心法规会抑制用户生成内容的分发。大部分抗议活动都围绕#saveyourinternet 标签展开。在本文中，我们研究了 YouTube 在动员抗议监管改革方面所发挥的积极作用。借助平台研究和参与者网络理论，我们的目的是引出大型科技公司在面临影响其运营市场规则的新法律法规时的公开和隐蔽策略。我们质疑 YouTube 如何在网络社会中发挥权力来源。事实上，#saveyourinternet 活动最重要的推动者拥有其传播的网络。这篇文章是对大型科技对民主决策影响的持续讨论的贡献。