Youtube and the Election - How Copyright Loopholes Shape an Election

If you have ever uploaded a video to Youtube chances are you've received an email like this one:

Dear {username},

Your video, {title}, may have content that is owned or licensed by {company}.

No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.

Sincerely,
- The YouTube Team

Like me you, presumably, thought:

1. Why so serious?

2. But it was only two seconds of a video from an obscure 1983 horror flick.

3. I know the song is new but it is only a video of me playing Gears of War III, plus I linked to the song.

4. What the heck - I am promoting {insert artist ad song title here}, doesn't it drive business to the artists like that wedding video featuring that song by Chris Brown. It got 40 million hits and the song made tons of money from Itunes downloads.


I will now tear back the veil and educate you on how exactly Youtube and others can know about, track, and delete videos that are posted for Copyright infringement.

Youtube compares each and every upload against a HUGE database of submitted reference files. Below is an image of a heat map showing how the brain of this system works.

Here we can see the reference file, something a user uploaded to Youtube, being compared to the user generated content, the record label. The system compares every moment of one to the other to see if there's a match. This means Youtube can identify a match even if the copy uses just a portion of the original file, plays it in slow motion, and has degraded audio or video.

The scale and speed of this system is truly breathtaking -- we're not just talking about a few videos, we're talking about over 100 years of video every day between new uploads and the legacy scans we regularly done across all of the content on the site. And when compared those 100 years of video, are being compared against millions of reference files in their database. It'd be like 36,000 people staring at 36,000 monitors each and every day without as much as a coffee break.

So how do we, normal everyday people who just want to upload our neighbor running over a sprinkler while cutting the grass while listening to Beyonce on a radio, get around it?

Good question, unfortunately Youtube and Media Cartel members have spent a lot of cash trying to figure out a way to stop you and for the most part pretty much have a great way to stop Copyright infringement form happening.

I must legally say also to figure out a way around the Copyright is illegal and you are committing a crime when you do it.

But Mr. Black aren't you being a little harsh after all my little brother skateboarding with Blink 182 on in the background is hardly something anyone cares about or should spend time or money to come after me...

While I agree some record companies and like company do not agree. Lest we forget the "Minnesota Mom Hit With $1.5 Million Fine for Downloading 24 Songs".

With all that said... not all hope is lost. There is a provision in the Copyright law entitled "Fair Use". It is written in ambiguous lawyer-speak specifically for the purpose of not making things clear and to difficult for the average publicly educated individual to know what t make of it.

So how does this relate to the election of 2012...

I am glad you asked... When a copyright infringement pops up and the appropriate "owner" is notified there are three usage policies, or choices, Block, Track or Monetize. If a rights owner specifies a Block policy, the video will not be viewable on YouTube. If the rights owner specifies a Track policy, the video will continue to be made available on YouTube and the rights owner will receive information about the video, such as how many views it receives. For a Monetize policy, the video will continue to be available on YouTube and ads will appear in conjunction with the video. The policies can be region-specific, so a content owner can allow a particular piece of material in one country and block the material in another.

Great... Block, Track, Monetize... So what? Again, good question... Here's what. Let's say you are a media cartel member (i.e. record company, TV network, etc) who does not want a particular candidate to win an upcoming election. When Youtube blows up with: TV news clippings, patriotic picture shows with quotes, endless hours of Fox News doing some bad reporting on the individual, heck even a late night talk show host talking about how much the candidate is being ignored, the "owners" of said programming simply "block" all usage of all material with a Copyright.

And that my friend is how big Corporations control our media and the internet to sway in their favor or for/against a political figure or topic.

Say it aint so JJ, say it aint so... I am sorry gentle reader it is so. Don't believe me try it out for yourself. Post a video to Youtube, wait, and watch. If there is a copyright on the material used you WILL get a notice about it and depending on the subject matter it may or may not be blocked.

I have been a "straw poll" of my own and it seems as though a disproportionate number of Ron Paul videos and clips and audio are being blocked.

Take Henry a thirty something who uploaded a video of Ron Paul on Fox News put a portion of a Green Day song, wham-o blocked. As a test "Henry" uploaded a portion of Mitt Romney on Fox News, from a few minutes later on in the broadcast, added the same exact Green Day audio and what do you know... no block.

Mr. Henry decided to get all scientific on Youtube and uploaded a current clip of President Obama making an ass of himself doing something or another, this time he used a clip from that annoying Lady Gaga song - it doesn't matter which one they're all the same - and wait for it wait for it... block. Later he uploaded a clip of George W. Bush being praised for something no one cares about, used the exact same portion of the Lady Gaga song and... No block. As my Italian Uncle would say "Un-friggin-believable" or int he immortal word of Metallica "Sad but True".

But wait, you say, even though I am making money for THEM they still block my video... Yup, I am afraid so and technically they have every right to, again as long as your video doesn't fall into the "fair use" portion of the Copyright law.

To me this doesn't fall into the "do they have the right to or not" category. This whole topic falls into the, as my Italian uncle would say "are-you-friggin-kidding-me" department. After all I am promoting YOUR product. When my video goes viral and gets 40 million hits then yo will let me use the song or video. I am sorry my dear friend it is a brave new world and this is the law of the west, so to speak.

All is not lost...

There is a way to fight back.

1. Stop using Youtube - Yea right I am addicted. No it's true, you can actually go on the internet without going on Youtube or even Facebook.

2. Don't upload any videos To Youtube.

3. Use music, in your videos, that is free to use. Which music is free to use, you ask. Figure it out pal - I can only do so much for you. But "royalty free music" is not hard to come by - hint hint.

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY - Face to face free speech isn't regulated by Youtube or anyone else, for that matter - yet... It's free, there is nearly an inexhaustible amount and we don't even need to drill...

Free Speech... Use it or loose it...

P.S. - I broke about 17 Copyright laws writing this blog post... Sue me.