Google CEO Schmidt: "YouTube Close to Filtering System"

In our earlier discussion about video filtering on social video sites, many were quite skeptical about how a system could analyze every upload against every copyrighted work (at least from major content providers). If Google CEO Eric Schmidt is to believed, they are "very close" to such an implementation:

The new system, which Schmidt called Claim Your Content, will automatically identify copyright material so that it can be removed, Schmidt said.

"We are very close to turning this on," Schmidt said.

The filtering system was supposed to have launched last year at YouTube, which Google acquired for $1.6 billion in October 2006. Delays in rolling it out have angered movie and television executives. Executives at NBC and Viacom have accused Google of dragging its feet on preventing YouTube users from uploading clips from hit shows and movies.

Interesting, but I wish we had some sort of idea of the technical workings of the system. I doubt, however, that we'll see that info for fear of a workaround.

Link.