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While it may seem to some that Google’s win over the Viacom lawsuit was a given, the fact is that the struggle has taken three years and for quite some time, the results could have gone either way.

Many are championing the internet as the base of free speech, freedom of information and in the dissemination of information, but the fact of the matter is that there are thousands of gigabytes worth of copyrighted material that are being illegally transferred every day. While this may not warrant the need for YouTube to scrutinize every single video upload that is made on the servers, it still makes for quite a strong argument.

But yes, Google has won and YouTube fans (as well as users of many other video sharing websites) can now rest easy knowing that there is no law that would prevent people from uploading video content on the media sharing site.

Smart phone users rely heavily on the YouTube web service as a host for the many videos that are shared online. A vast majority of Facebook’s videos link to YouTube hosted content. Had the Viacom lawsuit pushed through, Google might have had to take down all videos and screen every single file individually for copyrighted content.

The reason for the win is quite simple; Google already cooperates with the appropriate copyright holders when content is being contested. Upon the request of certified property owners, video content is investigated and taken down if necessary. Certain regions are also locked out from viewing content that has not been declared as allowed in the territory.

The fact the Google also provides the necessary power to copyright owners means that the lawsuit from Viacom is not only redundant, but quite unnecessary. Still, the fact that the lawsuit was made in the first place is a reminder to everyone that being able to upload content is a privilege that should be taken seriously.

The last trend on the internet that has taken solid roots is the ability to take old videos, convert them into digital format and upload on the net. Photos are significantly easier, simply upload the existing digital images (or simply scan old photographs) and users are ready to go send these contents into Facebook, YouTube, Picasa and other media storing and sharing websites. User generated content is the main bulk of today’s online media, and that volume is not going to stop growing anytime.

Thanks to the standardization of digital cameras on mobile phones, there are now more and more people who are able to instant web celebrities, news reporters or simply sources of funny content. There is plenty of freedom here, which brings us to the main question, should this be controlled?

So far, having the ability to upload content on the internet has not been the cause of trouble, many people are able to report crisis and emergencies as they happen –which speeds up the verification process that some groups need before they can mobilize. Any user with a video capable smart phone and access to the internet can instantly share with others the latest events.

While this freedom cannot be caged up, it should still be self-managed. Several months, back, Google Executives took the fall and blame for an uploaded video to the now defunct Google Video service. While the content was not created by Google, the Italian government still found it proper that the company be held responsible for the content that their site possessed.

In many ways, people should be more conscientious about what they shoot and more importantly, what they upload. Many people now feel anxiety when performing in large crowds or even private locations –not because of performance anxieties, but that worry that someone in the crowd would record the whole thing on a mobile phone, and upload it to Facebook where the whole world can see it.