YouTube was a compilation of three PayPal employees’ ideas to create a video-sharing website. Established in 2005, YouTube has grown tremendously. Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim’s website transformed into a necessity for the educational world and pop culture.

YouTube has opened a door for the scholastic world. John and Hank Green, who are notable as VlogBrothers, created Crash Course: an educational YouTube channel hosting series about humanities and science courses. Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown founded ASAP Science to demonstrate the practical use of science in everyday life. Khan Academy has a YouTube channel, as does TED. YouTube is an important staple to the educational career.

YouTube is an epicenter for entertainment. Felix Kjellberg, better known by his online alias PewDiePie, is a famous “YouTuber” and is recognized as an international celebrity; on Oct. 2, Kjellberg was featured on Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Bethany Mota, Dan Howell, Tyler Oakley, Zoe Sugg are all world-distinguished due to their popular presence on YouTube. YouTube is simply another platform for the creativity in pop culture to flourish.

Nevertheless, people have used the YouTube creator title to exploit those who educate and entertain. Jordan Maron, internationally renowned as CaptainSparklez, experienced an incredulous invasion of privacy. PC Gamer and Variety disclosed a photo series of Maron’s 4.5 million dollar home without the consent of the Minecraft player. On Oct. 15, Jordan Maron posted to Twitter “Sucks feeling unsafe in your own home.” The online magazine’s leak is a threat to the safety of the video game enthusiast. Privacy is a liberty. Regardless of a YouTube creator’s fame, the individual behind the camera has a choice of what portion of their life is publicized. Respect Jordan Maron’s privacy.

YouTube can be defined by the three E’s: education, entertainment, and exploitation. Fortunately, it is in the world’s power to decrease the use of YouTube for misuse. Hawthorne High School can take a pledge: respect the privacy of the people on YouTube who educate. Respect the privacy of the people on YouTube who entertain. It is up to the YouTube audience to protect Jordan Maron and every other creator who is in trouble. Save YouTube.