MySpace Tests Filter To Block Unauthorized Videos

MySpace Tests Filter To Block Unauthorized Videos

The tool from Audible Magic scans videos for unique digital fingerprints and then compares them with those in a database. If there's a match, the videos are blocked from the site.

MySpace, which is under pressure by media companies for unauthorized showing of copyrighted material in videos, on Monday said it's testing filtering technology that would block such content from being posted on the popular online community.

The software tools from Audible Magic scan videos for unique digital fingerprints and then compares them with those in a database. If there's a match, the videos are blocked from the site.

The technology is being used to block music videos and other content from Universal Music Group, the Vivendi SA unit that sued MySpace last November for copyright infringement. That suit is still pending.

The filtering tools are available for free to other content creators, as well, MySpace said. NBC/Universal and Fox are also participating in the pilot program. MySpace and Fox are both owned by News Corp.

"MySpace is dedicated to ensuring that content owners, whether large or small, can both promote and protect their content in our community," Chris DeWolfe, chief executive and co-founder of MySpace, said in a statement. "For MySpace, video filtering is about protecting artists and the work they create."

MySpace already uses filtering technology for audio clips. The newest filters should be particularly helpful in ensuring that video taken down at the request of copyright holders is blocked from being reposted on the site. MySpace users often repost unauthorized content that has been taken down.