YouTube suit threats our freedom, Google says
A $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube is threatening people's exchange of information on the internet, Google Inc. said. The claim was made as a reaction to Viacom Inc., who says YouTube was responsible for "an explosion of copyright infringement." And YouTube owes them the money for illegally showing material from MTV, Comedy Central and other networks.
Although YouTube got famous for letting people upload any content they wanted, it is true they are working hard to eliminate illegal content these days. Google said their YouTube "goes far beyond its legal obligations in assisting content owners to protect their works." And Viacom wants to hold carriers and providers responsible for what people share, which "threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic expression." It seems like Google wants to turn this into a net neutrality debate.
The thing I really like about YouTube is that you get a chance to watch videos that were never accessible in the ages ago unless you were able to fork out some serious cash to get a box set on VHS, or prayed that MTV would show it if you were lucky enough to have cable).