Online Video Code Fights for Freedom
July 8, 2008

Don’t count American University among the online-video fun police.

The university’s Center for Social Media yesterday put out a so-called Best Practices Code for what it says outlines what’s “fair” and what’s not in terms of online-video posts. The document’s likely a response to the proliferation of video posts and views, as U.S. viewers are watching about 65% more online videos than they did a year ago (doesn’t anyone work anymore?).

The code is also especially apropos in light of the $1 billion lawsuit MTV parent Viacom filed against YouTube last year, claiming that the Google unit doesn’t do enough to prevent copyrighted material from being posted.

So, according to the University’s code, this is what flies, in English:

• You should feel free to post Kajagoogo’s Too Shy video as part of a tribute to righteous ‘80s band hairstyles.
• Wanna use a clip from Resident Evil: Apocalypse to comment that we live in one violent society? You shouldn’t get beat up for it.
• Just because At Last is playing in the background of the video of your first wedding dance doesn’t mean you should have to pay Etta James’ publisher for it.
• You might regret posting footage of you dancing drunkenly at a Jimmy Buffett concert, but you shouldn’t get sued for it.
• Not a fan of Radiohead’s High and Dry video and want to headline it with “Worst Video Ever?” You may not have taste, but you shouldn’t have a legal bill either.
• No one should be able to tell you that you can’t intersperse footage of the Beastie Boys, Eleanor Roosevelt, Deacon Jones and the Bolshoi Ballet to create a visual statement about why the Vietnam War was a bad idea.

Posted by Danny King on July 8, 2008 | Comments (0)