Anyone with a hit with a copyright claim on YouTube can probably tell you about the complicated, confusing, and drawn hassle that comes with it. Fortunately, the platform is released a tool to proactively notify creators of potential copyright issues of their video before publishing.
Social media analyst Matt Navarra reported on Wednesday tweeted a screenshot of the feature, which started rolling out in February, that screens a video for “any copyright issues that could limit its visibility” while uploading.
The screenshot doesn’t show much about how this tool, called Checks, will work, but other reports have speculated that it uses YouTube’s automated Content ID technology currently used by copyright holders to browse the sea of YouTube content and find videos or music they own. If a video is uploaded that infringes their copyright, they are allowed to prevent the entire video from playing, or they can display ads with the clip to monetize the infringer’s channel.
In an email, a YouTube spokesperson confirmed the new Checks feature, accessible through YouTube Studio, sPlease note that the function is to help creators upload videos that comply with the rules. The company also published details about the new pre-publishing tools in a post on his community site.
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The “informal” Creators Insider, which was created by folks who work at YouTube have a little more detail on the wider pre-pub control system in the video below. While all creators can use these types of scans for potential copyright issues, creators running ads on their channel can see how advertiser friendly YouTube will rate their video before uploading.
If it worked properly Content ID would be a great system, but as the Electronic Frontier Foundation showed a report According to YouTube’s technology from last December, this is one that has traditionally incorrectly flagged creators for copyrighted content or flagged multiple times for a single video.
Even if Checks doesn’t use a Content ID, it still isn’t promised to be a failsafe. As the Navarre screenshot notes, the results of the scan are ‘not final’. Even if a creator is allowed to post a video, he can still get a copyright claim later.