Streaming video platforms like Vimeo and YouTube host many more user-uploaded clips than could possibly ever be viewed and vetted for potential piracy by actual human beings, and federal law generally shields websites from liability of piracy they aren’t aware of. Yet, do these companies lose that protection if some employees have looked at content that was posted in violation of copyright? [More]
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YouTube Threatens Legal Action Against Service That Lets You Download Videos
By 5.31.16
Most of us are perfectly happy with going to YouTube and streaming that clip of Pookie being exhorted — in language that is not safe for work — to lay waste to his place of work, but some folks may want to watch this video offline, or do some tinkering with the clip. Some YouTube videos are available for download, but most are not, which is why people turn to services that allow you to get your own copy of a streaming video. YouTube, not surprisingly, is not a fan of such services and is dangling the threat of legal action against at least one. [More]
Fox Swipes YouTube Clip Of Video Game For “Family Guy” Then Demands Copyright Takedown Of Original
By 5.20.16
Seven years ago, a YouTube user uploaded footage of a well-known glitch in the classic basketball video game Double Dribble. More recently, an episode of Fox’s Family Guy used what appears to be this exact same clip. Then the network had the original video temporarily removed from YouTube, claiming it was a copyright violation. [More]
YouTube Adding A Messaging Tool To Its Mobile Apps
By 5.12.16
If you’re the kind of person who can’t help but send your friends the latest and greatest cat videos when you’re deep in a YouTube hole, you could cut some steps from your sharing process if the video service’s new messaging function becomes a permanent feature. [More]
Amazon Launches Its Own YouTube-Like Service: Amazon Video Direct
By 5.10.16
Amazon already squares off against Netflix and iTunes in the streaming video subscription and rental marketplaces, so it’s probably not a shock that Amazon now has YouTube in its sights with a new platform for amateur moviemakers called Amazon Direct Video. [More]
YouTube Introduces 6-Second Video Ads For Mobile Users With Short Attention Spans
By 4.26.16
Internet users are spending more of our time online staring at the tiny screens of our mobile phones rrather than the larger screens of our computers, and that includes short videos. Users don’t really have a long attention span for ads before the video that they actually tapped on, though, and that’s why YouTube is now selling 6-second “bumper” ads to keep viewers from tuning out. [More]
YouTube Adds 360-Degree Live Streaming Video Capabilities
By 4.18.16
For the better part of a year, YouTube has allowed users to post 360-degree videos. Today, the company took that initiative further by launching immersive live streaming. [More]
RIAA Head: We’ll Never Have A Fair Deal With YouTube Under Current Copyright Law
By 4.11.16
Streaming video is the best medium for the delivery of music videos, but it’s also a great medium for posting pirated music videos and entire albums. That’s why the Recording Industry Association of America, record labels’ trade group, wants more money from YouTube for music videos that users watch. The problem, the group’s head explains, is that rampant piracy makes it impossible to negotiate with YouTube’s owner, Google. [More]
Apple Fixes iPhone Flaw That Allowed Siri Twitter Search To Access To Photos, Contacts
By 4.6.16
No one likes a snoop. That’s why Apple says it has fixed a security flaw in the iOS operating system that allowed the Siri virtual assistant to search Twitter on locked iPhones, leading to the unauthorized access of photos and contacts.
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21 Pranks, Fake Products, And Other Corporate Attempts At April Fools’ Day Relevance
By 4.1.16
Ever since April 1, 1922 when our print forerunner, The Consumerist Bugle-Gazette, ran an April Fools’ Day cover story that unwittingly — but accurately — announced the death of exiled Austrian Emperor Charles I, we’ve not tempted fate and avoided such tomfoolery. But others aren’t burdened by these ghosts of Aprils gone awry. [More]
Video Makers Unhappy With Facebook’s Slow Response To Allegedly Pirated Videos
By 3.31.16
Chances are you’ve seen a few of those popular, captivating videos on Facebook — you know, the ones of the cooking demonstrations or the science experiments. While those videos can be fun for you to watch, they’re often part of a longer video that was posted somewhere else first. And the creators behind them don’t enjoy seeing them repurposed by someone else. [More]
Report: YouTube Working On Live-Streaming Video App
By 3.24.16
YouTube might be stepping up to bat against Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live with its own foray into the live-streaming video world, according to a new report. [More]
YouTube Stops Complaining About T-Mobile’s Binge On, Joins Program
By 3.17.16
Remember all those years ago, when YouTube publicly railed against T-Mobile’s Binge On program, saying the wireless company may have violated FCC rules by throttling all video traffic? And then it led to a war of words, culminating in the T-Mobile CEO cursing out his critics on Twitter and accusing the Electronic Frontier Foundation of taking money from his competition? That was only a matter of weeks ago, but it’s all water under the bridge because YouTube has agreed to be part of Binge On after T-Mo made changes to give content companies more control over streaming quality. [More]
Fairly Used: Why Schools Need To Teach Kids The Whole Truth About Copyright
By 2.26.16
Today’s teenagers live in a time where technology gives them the tools to create, share, and publish just about anything they can conceive, and enables and encourages them to use and remix existing content from TV, movies, music, and games. At the same time, they are repeatedly reminded that their creations can be shut down, removed, or monetized by others who simply claim to have a copyright. So they know how to snag a clip from The Walking Dead, set it to “Yakety Sax” and post it on YouTube, but what they may not know — because most schools are failing to teach them — is under what circumstances the law actually protects the fair use of copyrighted material, and when it doesn’t. [More]
Vevo Planning Ad-Free Subscription Streaming Video Service
By 2.18.16
The latest streaming video brand to jump on the subscription bandwagon is Vevo, which announced that it’s working on a paid, ad-free music video service that it could debut as early as next year. [More]
Dentist Who Tried To Remove News Story From YouTube Drops Lawsuit, Pays $12K In Fees
By 2.17.16
A few weeks back we told you about a former dentist in Georgia who pled guilty in 2009 to filing Medicaid claims for procedures he didn’t actually perform, and who was trying to sue an anonymous YouTuber over a nearly seven-year-old news story that included allegations of physical assault from some patients. This week, the doctor agreed to withdraw his lawsuit and fork over $12,000 in fees for the unnamed defendant. [More]
YouTuber Being Sued By Dentist Explains Why It’s Important They Stay Anonymous
By 1.20.16
Yesterday we told you about Dr. Gordon Austin, a former dentist who is suing to unmask an anonymous YouTube user for posting a 2009 news report about allegations against Austin. We’ve since had the chance to communicate with the YouTuber via email to understand why they posted the clip in the first place and why, nearly seven years later, they are still fighting to keep it online. [More]
Dentist Who Pled Guilty To Theft Trying To Erase Past Allegations From YouTube
By 1.19.16
A retired dentist in Georgia, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to filing Medicaid claims for procedures he didn’t actually perform, doesn’t want the world to see a nearly seven-year-old news report about allegations from patients that he physically assaulted them while in his office. [More]
