We Want Media

YouTube is finally being censored ... by itself. Reuters reports that YouTube is taking off all videos over 10 minutes long due to the consistency in which such videos violate copyright laws. However, videos over 10 minutes can still make it on as long as the content has been approved.

I saw it as inevitable that YouTube was going to eventually be censored. I am just glad they decided to do it themselves -- unlike Napster, which shut itself down for an extended period of time after major recording companies and artists won lawsuits preventing the trading of copyrighted materials. Napster has since returned, now charging to download music. YouTube has decided that hopefully this step will prevent history from repeating itself. However, the fact remains that there is plenty of copyrighted material on the site, from MadTV sketches to music videos.

I see this as a necessary first step, but I still believe the copyrighted owners of these materials are going to crack down hard. NBC forced YouTube to take down the Lazy Sunday (Chronicles of Narnia) skit that helped launch YouTube into stardom. I believe there is great stuff on YouTube that contains some copyrighted material, but serves a purpose in that it is something unique and you can not find anywhere else (such as dedication videos). However, I think another highly-viewed copyrighted video could spell the end of self-censorship for YouTube. I sure hope this doesn't happen, but only time will tell and the ball is definitely in YouTube's court.