Google Blinks, and Today the Internet is a Little Less Free

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: October 16, 2007 5:28:49 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Google Blinks, and Today the Internet is a  
Little Less Free

Google Blinks, and Today the Internet is a Little Less Free


Submitted by Gigi Sohn on October 15, 2007 - 3:14pm.
<http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1217>
Just a few moments ago, YouTube introduced the beta version of its  
“video identification” system, the purpose of which is to control the  
amount of infringing material that appears on the site. Under  
enormous pressure from movie studios and record labels and their  
friends on Capitol Hill to filter out copyrighted material, and with  
the Viacom lawsuit looming, You Tube’s parent Google has developed a  
tool that will likely restrict the flow of legal content over the  
Internet, and absolutely raises the bar for each and every entity  
that serves as a conduit for copyrighted works.

Here is how the system works: A copyright holder uploads its works  
into a reference database, which then generates identification files  
by which uploaded videos are matched. When a user uploads a video  
onto YouTube, that video is matched with the identification file. If  
there is a “match” (more on that later), then the video is subject to  
whatever action the rights holder has decided to apply to it; for  
example, it could be blocked, “tracked” or “monetized.” If the video  
is blocked, the user will be notified, and can immediately contest  
the claim by clicking onto a link. Once YouTube receives the user  
contest, it will put the video back on the site. At that point,  
notice and takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright  
Act (DMCA) would kick in. If the copyright holder continues to want  
the video removed, it would have to send a takedown notice required  
by the DMCA. The user can send a counter-notice, whereupon the video  
would be reinstated, etc.

This being the beta version of the system, there are still a lot of  
kinks to work out. Chief among them is the definition of what  
constitutes a “match.” We were told at a briefing that a few seconds  
would be insufficient for a match, but not much else. Right now,  
YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes, but it seems unlikely that  
YouTube will adopt a minimum of that length. Where YouTube sets this  
minimum may be the single most important factor to determine whether  
there will be a proliferation of false positives, that is, legal  
content blocked by the copyright holder.

While YouTube should be be praised for making it easy for a user to  
contest a block, it should also recognize that permitting a copyright  
holder to have “block” as a default setting will likely limit the  
free flow of legal content over the Internet. Regardless of whether  
their use of copyrighted material is legal or fair use (such as  
commentary or criticism, which can legally use large portions of  
copyrighted works), many users will simply give up after being  
blocked (particularly if they fear a possible lawsuit). Or others may  
not bother to post to YouTube at all. This is why it is critically  
important that when YouTube sends notices to those users who do get  
blocked, that they also provide information about users rights,  
including fair use, so users can make an intelligent choice about  
whether to challenge their accusers.

YouTube was also not clear about exactly what it would mean for a  
copyright holder to be “tracked.” Rights holders would have a special  
portal that would tell them how many times matched content is viewed  
and how many times their content is blocked. According to YouTube,  
the only personal information the rights holder would get is the  
email address of the user if they contest the blocking of  
information. But keeping in mind the recording industry’s failed  
battle to get personal information about P2P file sharers from  
Verizon, you can believe that the content industry will want to use  
this tool to get as much personally identifying information as  
possible from YouTube.

[snip]


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