Viacom Scoffs at YouTube Filtering Tool, Proposes Universal Antipiracy Plan

It’s not enough to create a proprietary video-blocking technology to identify copyright infringement, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said recently. YouTube’s upcoming content filter doesn’t do what Viacom wants: an industry-wide universal filter.

Digital Journal — At last week’s Web 2.0 Summit, Viacom dismissed Google’s much-anticipated copyright content filter for YouTube as a “proprietary filtering system that benefits one company.” Instead, CEO and president Dauman proposed, the entertainment industry should look towards one universal plan that could spot any video on any site that infringes on a company’s copyright laws.

According to PC World, Dauman said:
We obviously have to protect our business just as Google or anybody else will protect what is very valuable to them. I don’t see all the [Google] algorithms being shared very openly with their competitors.It’s not all bluster. Viacom is reportedly teaming up with other media giants such as Disney, Microsoft and MySpace to create an industry standard for protecting copyright content on the Web. Members to this consortium must filter video content using “effective content identification technology.”

Arstechnica speculates this one-size-fits-all approach could be dangerous down the road:
It’s understandable that media companies want to maintain as much control over their content as possible. Content filters would give them nearly absolute control—more than envisioned by the Copyright Act. A technological solution will have to innovate on the interpretation of ‘fair use’ given by the rights holders. Somehow, we suspect this won’t be very ‘fair’ at all.
If an industry-wide standard is created, the landscape of online content will be completely overhauled. Want to check out a quick Seinfeld clip online? It won’t be there. Want to add a 10-second snippet of a pop song to your homemade online video? Big Media will find out immediately, and take down your vid. Although business interests will be secured with a universal filtering plan, personal interests will be shot down without a second thought. Is this the future we’d like to see?