Microsoft gets off its Soapbox temporarily over piracy concerns
Microsoft has closed its video sharing site to new users while it implements new technology to detect uploaded videos that could have copyright restrictions. The Soapbox, while still on its public beta stage, was poised to be Microsoft’s answer to Google’s YouTube.
The move is in response to an increasing number of illicit videos appearing on the service. Microsoft said no new users will be accepted for the time being. “If you don’t have a Soapbox account, we’ll be opening the doors again very soon with some cool new stuff to try,” new visitors are being told. However, those with passwords to the site can continue to access it.
“We want to automate finding copyrighted content for content owners as much as possible through good tools, as well as run filtering in the background. Following this period, we will open Soapbox back up in public beta to more broadly test the filters.”
Adam Sohn, a director in Microsoft’s online services group said, “Microsoft will use technology from Audible Magic Corp. that will filter uploaded videos and block those with content under copyright.”
The CopySense Network Appliance, Audible Magic’s forefront product, can analyze and block content that is considered to be under copyright protection. The technology can accept “rules” as to what should and should not be filtered.
Along with the Soapbox lockdown, Microsoft announced that it had reached an agreement with NBC/Universal and News Corp. where Soapbox would be use for distributing video content through four partner portals, including MSN’s video-sharing site.
With these two major providers coming aboard, the software giant has to keep its content legal. In a statement, Microsoft Platform and Services president Kevin Johnson stressed the importance of keeping the clips on Soapbox properly licensed.
“We were thrilled to be a part of these discussions from the start, and share with our colleagues in the content industry our vision for delivering easy access to great content for consumers while accommodating critical copyright and intellectual property protections. This partnership proves we can do both and serves as a great foundation for future collaboration.”
The lockout will help content creators get the benefits they deserve. For Microsoft, this could mean a loss in potential users while save the company billions from lawsuits.
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