MySpace Takes Steps

Concerned about the growing number of lawsuits directed at video upload Web sites, MySpace has implemented a systems it calls “Take Down, Stay Down,” designed to prevent users from posting copyrighted content that could put the [tag-tec]social networking[/tag-tec] giant in trouble. The new tool blacklists copyrighted content. However the technology, which “fingerprints” video content, could get in the way of fair use practices, say some critics.

[tag-ice]MySpace[/tag-ice] announced Friday an initiative to prevent copyrighted material from being misused, increasing pressure on Google to more aggressively police its YouTube subsidiary.

MySpace said it is adding a feature called “Take Down, Stay Down” that would prevent copyrighted content from being reposted after it has been taken down by the copyright owner.

MySpace is using technology provided by Audible Magic, a company specializing in content management and antipiracy services. Google reportedly has a deal with Audible Magic as well, but declined to talk about it.

This technology is an attempt to stem what big media companies have described as a new epidemic of digital piracy, dating to the official launch of YouTube in the fall of 2005.

Angered by the unauthorized and rampant use of copyrighted content, the studios have been fighting back in court. Universal Music Group sued MySpace along with video-sharing sites Grouper and Bolt in the fall of 2006, and Viacom sued Google in February of this year.

Last week, two large New York law firms brought a class-action suit against YouTube on behalf of English Premier League Football and music publisher Bourne.

Google, which bought YouTube, the leading Internet video site last fall, said it is working with copyright holders. “We are focused on helping copyright holders protect, promote or monetize their work, based on their preferences. We have long offered notification and takedown tools,” said a spokesperson.

In a statement, Michael Angus, executive vice president and general counsel for Fox Interactive Media, said MySpace’s new feature will “solve a problem that has long frustrated copyright holders and presented technical challenges to service providers.”

The new feature enables copyright holders to automatically make a digital fingerprint of infringing material and add it to a database. MySpace uses the database to determine which videos can be legally uploaded to the site.

Owners of digital content can choose to authorize only certain MySpace users to upload copyrighted videos or to block the videos from being uploaded entirely.

C. McSherry, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier, a San Francisco-based group that advocates for digital rights, said the problem with the feature is that it doesn’t allow for “fair use,” a legal concept that gives ordinary people the right to quote from books, cite newspaper articles and sing their favorite songs without seeking prior authorization.

“‘Fair use’ means you don’t have to ask permission,” McSherry said.

McSherry said she was also concerned about what would happen if a take-down request was disputed. “In that case it seems that further human review would be appropriate”