Since 2016 Hand Green has been working to bring protections to online content creators through his company, Internet Creators Guild (ICG). Their goal was to increase transparency in deals with advertisers and platforms and to have a lobbying function. The “new media” industry is dominated by big business and creators face an unequal access to profits. ICG was stepping-in and putting pressure on platforms to be responsive to the creators needs. But this month the company announced it no longer could afford to stay open and would be shutting down due to financial instability. 
The question is whether platforms are to blame for the closing of the Internet Creators Guild? As far as Green is concerned, he had been working hard to shed light on the facts of dis-equal treatment. For example, major record labels receive .70 cent for every dollar spent on YouTube Premium by subscribers. In the beginning it was believed that YouTube Premium was going to benefit the content creators, but, as IGC wrote, 

 

 

“Record labels stand in solidarity with each other and can hold YouTube hostage.  This is one of the many reasons collective action is necessary in our space.”

It is also practice that large advertisers push talent to keep their pay rates hidden by enforcing non-disclosure agreement deals. Leaving creators to struggle to make a profit from their work and without a way to be public about such industry practices.