[bsder]

> It's not reasonable to expect content aggregators/platforms to be able to conduct provenance investigations on all content.

Why not? A mere mortal would have to get permission from me to derive a monetary benefit from my content. Why should we exempt Google from that?

People seem to have forgotten that it is not the job of the content creators to make sure that Google has a scalable business. If Google can't scale provenance clearance, then they should have to shut down general uploading.

YouTube is not a search engine and does not deserve the same protections.

> Why should YouTube be liable when someone with a vendetta misuses their platform?

Because Google has legal recourse against the person with the vendetta for recovery. You can also make situations like this eligible for exemption (but Google would have to prove it).

However, this kind of situation is BY FAR the exception. Far more common is someone uploading and monetizing content that is not theirs to do so.

[joshuamorton]

> Why not? A mere mortal would have to get permission from me to derive a monetary benefit from my content. Why should we exempt Google from that?

Right, but that mere mortal is the one defrauding Google.

> YouTube is not a search engine and does not deserve the same protections.

DMCA safe harbor doesn't apply specifically to search engines.

> Far more common is someone uploading and monetizing content that is not theirs to do so.

Yes, that's defrauding Google. The point is that Google shouldn't be liable for when someone defrauds them.

> Because Google has legal recourse against the person with the vendetta for recovery.

The problem here is that you're claiming that google should be liable for a painful enough fine that it won't happen again. If you're our for punitive damages against a billion dollar corporation, no, you can't, get recourse from an individual. Sure google could sue me for the value of the fine, but that doesn't mean I can pay.

[bsder]

> Yes, that's defrauding Google. The point is that Google shouldn't be liable for when someone defrauds them.

Except that Google is still defrauding me too. Google should not get to make money off of my content without my permission.

If Google were simply hosting the content and not serving ads, not taking paid subscriptions, etc. then your points that Google should not be liable for the behavior of the users holds a lot more water.

For example, YouTube could set the default that everybody can upload, but people can only monetize or serve ads on content after verification. Now, I still think YouTube would need to be disincentivized as it is still freeloading off the commons, but that's a very different problem, and YouTube is in a much more sympathetic position.

Now, would all of this kill YouTube? Quite possibly. However, once you prevent YouTube from freeloading, you might actually get a video service that has a business model that doesn't suck.