From outward appearances it would appear that the big content publishers have declared an all out war on the Internet.  The RIAA continues to sue individuals who share music online.  Viacom recently forced YouTube to remove over 100,000 videos that it claimed copyright over.  NBC's CEO recently had a few choice words to say about YouTube as well.  And Universal Music currently has a lawsuit against the social networking hub of the Internet - MySpace.

In what it says is an unrelated move, MySpace has announced plans to roll out a new copyright protection system designed to block certain videos from being uploaded by users, the Washington Post reports.

MySpace has apparently licensed technology from Audible Magic Corp that scans videos looking for "signature vectors".  The technology then compares the vectors gleaned from the scan to a database of known video clips.  If copyrighted material is found, the system will block the video from being uploaded.  Once a video has been identified as copyrighted, the system will automatically block any future attempts to upload the same content.

The new blocking technology is being tested on none other than Universal Music Group's content.  Other content providers are free to join the program as well.  The system still allows content owners to permit certain copyrighted videos on the site for promotional purposes.

The same thing that is happening now happened to music and file-sharing destinations in the past few years.  For a while, content providers turn a blind eye… hoping that the people creating these systems will voluntarily filter their content.  Why?  For PR purposes.  The content publishers are seen as "the bad guy" when they speak up, file suit, or otherwise try to hamper illegal activities involving their material.  When that voluntary filtering doesn't happen, the content publishers take action.

I don't understand why social networking sites, like YouTube and MySpace, thought it would be any different for them.  Content publishers don't care how much the people enjoy using a service.  They don't care how big or popular another service is.  They, like any other company, care about their bottom line.  And when services cut into that bottom line, they are going to react.

I also don't understand why these social networking sites let it get to the point where lawsuits have to be filed and arguments must break out.  Police your users!  If you create a free and clear system for people to share music or videos they are going to share copyrighted material, regardless of whatever stated "policy" you have in place.  Come on, YouTube and MySpace.  It's not rocket science.  But then again, if people are policed they look for alternatives with fewer restrictions.

So it's a doubled-edge sword of sorts.  Content publishers want to control their own works.  Social networking sites want to attract customers.  But if the only way you can attract customers is with sanctioned copyright infringement it might be time to look at the real value of your service.