Portman Goes Tubing

Last week we documented CBS News's efforts to get YouTube to take down video of an "Evening News" report on the triumphant performance of autistic basketball team manager Jason McElwain. (YouTube took the video down at CBS' request, but someone posted it again a few hours later. It now seems to be gone from the site.) NBC had previously had a similar conflict with YouTube over a video of the "Lazy Sunday" skit from Saturday Night Live. (YouTube eventually removed that video as well, in addition to other copyrighted NBC content.)

Well, here we go again: Over the weekend numerous people uploaded video of a Saturday Night Live skit involving Natalie Portman rapping. At least 100,000 people have watched the video on YouTube. This time it looks like YouTube (and, in all likelihood, NBC) was quick on the draw: By 1:15, YouTube had taken the video off its site. In its stead disappointed searchers found a message reading "This video has been removed due to copyright infringement."

For now, then, NBC has been satisfied. But one has to wonder how long this kind of thing can go on. Will networks like CBS and NBC continue to be willing to keep the status quo, in which their content is available for free until the lawyers demand it be removed? Or will they try to force companies to vet videos before they are posted, essentially crippling sites like YouTube that give users control of what goes up – and host plenty of unobjectionable, homemade content?