youtube

YouTube is getting strict in enforcing its age requirements on the popular viral video site.

YouTubers have been complaining that the Google-owned company has been suspending accounts associated with several well-known YouTube child stars and providing no reason.

In response to queries by CNET News.com on the matter, a YouTube spokeswoman provided this statement on Thursday:

"All YouTube users must agree to and abide by our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines when they register for a YouTube account. This includes providing accurate registration information and being over the age of 13."

"We understand that young … Read more

YouTube users are complaining that the viral video site is suspending accounts that feature videos with children in them without stating why. So far, at least three channels--Jesari, YoungTubers and Galipoka--have been suspended, all featuring popular young YouTubers.

Is it age discrimination? Or is it overzealous enforcement of a child protection policy? A spokesman for YouTube's outside public relations firm said he would look into the matter and get back to CNET News.com. A Google spokesman directed all questions on the matter to YouTube.

According to the terms of service, people have to be over the age of … Read more

If you ever wanted to videotape your pets fighting to Romanian dance music while on a trampoline, Sony has a new pocket camcorder for you. Sony's NSC-GC1 Net-sharing CAM is targeted specifically at the YouTube crowd, with a low enough price tag and just enough power to throw clips up on the Web. The Net-sharing CAM can shoot video ranging from QVGA (320x240) at 15 frames per second to VGA (640x480) at 30 frames per second. It records to Sony's Memory Stick DUO memory cards, so if you already have a PlayStation Portable or a Sony Cyber-shot digital … Read more

The hits just keep coming to Google Video.

Pirated versions of Hairspray, Bruce Willis' Live Free, Die Hard and last weekend's top grossing film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, were available at YouTube's sister site on Monday.

The films were first flagged by the National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group that tries to prod public figures to act ethically. The NLPC argues that Google treats the entertainment industry unfairly by allegedly looking the other way when users post pirated material to its sites.

For a month, the NLPC has dug up hundreds of … Read more

Here's something that shouldn't surprise many people: The video journalist who has been in a closely watched legal tussle with YouTube is also peeved at Apple.

Bob Tur is famous in Los Angeles for buzzing around the city in his helicopter and filming historical (and often bizarre) moments, such as O.J. Simpson's slow-speed Bronco chase, oodles of high-speed police pursuits and the beating of a trucker at the beginning of the Los Angeles riots. A year ago this month, he filed a suit against YouTube, claiming the company encouraged copyright violations on its site.

He's … Read more

YouTube's dominance in video sharing has prompted Sony to take a new approach to the sector.

Grouper, the video-sharing site acquired by Sony last August for $65 million, announced on Monday that it is dropping its name and changing its business plan. Grouper from here on out will be known as Crackle.

"User-generated video is dead to us," declared Josh Felser, Grouper's founder who is now Crackle's president. "We are definitely leaving video sharing and focusing on emerging talent."

In the past, visitors to Grouper could post videos to the site and eventually … Read more

"Google Maps is changing the way we see the world," journalist Evan Ratliff declares in a June article for Wired magazine. I couldn't agree more. Google's universal mapping project isn't just changing the portals for viewing the world online, it's also changing offline understandings of how the world is best viewed--from Google's services, of course. Google has gained influence fast, by ambitiously developing innovative, interactive mapping software; integrating multiple online services into the majority of desktop and online apps; and familiarizing users with a particular Google-branded aesthetic.

In creating a suite of map apps to encourage users to contribute to Google's greater project and personalize locally-stored versions of a map, Google is not just bringing cartography to the masses, Ratliff points out, but is getting users to help build out its universe. This, of course, makes complete sense. With Google Earth, Google SketchUp, and MyMaps (watch the CNET News.com "how-to" video,) Google's mapping software has surpassed competitors like NASA in digitizing the world. In so doing, Google has captivated the imagination of loyal users who will return to the company's Earth and maps programs to find business listings, explore culturally significant architecture, and plant personal photos and videos.… Read more

Terence Evans this week became the first judge in the United States to cite a YouTube video in a written opinion.

Evans, a President Clinton nominee who sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was writing about a case involving a trademark dispute over "Stealth" baseball bats.

The case deals with baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett, who joined a baseball bat manufacturer after he left the Kansas City Royals. Now Brett Brothers Sports International is embroiled in a trademark dispute with Central Manufacturing, which is a hyper-litigious company owned by Leo Stoller that claims broad trademark … Read more

A video posted to YouTube in April offers a primer on how to use Google to pilfer music and video files in less time than it takes to download them from a peer-to-peer service.

"I'll be teaching you how to use Google as your own peer-to-peer network," said Jimmy Ruska at the beginning of the clip. Ruska is the 21-year-old who posted the video, according to a report in The Financial Times.

The how-to video focuses on what is known as an "index of" search and shows users how to direct Google's search engine … Read more