wheel - 12:20 pm on May 28, 2010 (gmt 0)

If someone posts a video, text, file, code, news article, .... what's preventing them from getting sued next? If every site could be held liable for all user generated content the ramifications are huge.

You don't have to be responsible for USG. You have to be responsible for USG that includes copyright infringement. That's basically theft. And the fact that the ramifications are huge are exactly the reason why this is so important - it's happening everywhere and it needs to stop.

A good analogy is a pawn shop. Pawn shops are responsible for ensuring they're not trafficking in stolen goods - even if it is difficult for them to do so and even though it may 'hurt' their business. Wouldn't it be easier if pawn shops could just accept items from people and then resell them, without being responsible for the previous ownership of the item? Sure it would. Why can't Youtube make sure they're not trafficking in stolen content?