Skip to main content

Facebook can automatically block, monitor pirated videos for business users

facebook stories on desktop tested sign
Panithan Fakseemuang / 123RF
Facebook is making it easier to stop video theft. On Thursday, the social media platform announced changes to the Rights Manager system that allows business pages to automate a number of actions if duplicate content is discovered, including blocking the video outright.

The changes come as part of the Rights Manager, a system launched a year ago that detects identical video content, either as a whole or in smaller clips and allows the page administrator to take a number of different actions, including reporting copyright infringement or “white listing” other pages that have permission to use the footage. Rights Manager, available only to Pages after an application is accepted, shows a database of uploaded videos along with the number of new matches or times the video is found on another page, allowing an admin to review and determine which action to take.

The latest update allows page owners to choose to skip the review process and automatically take an action when a duplicate video is found. Those actions include blocking the video entirely and monitoring the videos metrics. In the future, those auto options will even include claiming a portion of the revenue in Ad Break. Facebook is still testing the Ad Break feature that allows ads to be inserted into videos while the creator earns a portion of that revenue, but the feature has launched to a select number of pages for testing.

Users can also determine a set of conditions to determine which automatic action should be taken. That means users can decide to block a video that uses more than one minute of identical footage, for example, but will leave it alone if the duplicate content is just a few seconds. Additional conditions include where the viewer is located, whether the identical content is video or audio, if the video was shared by a business page or personal profile and whether the video was shared publicly or privately.

The new feature started rolling out to some users yesterday, with global availability expected in the next few weeks.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Twitter to impose dark mode as it’s ‘better in every way,’ Elon Musk says
A white X on a black background, which could be Twitter's new logo.

If you tend to use Twitter in light mode, then prepare for things to change.

The microblogging platform, which is in the process of rebranding to “X” under the orders of new owner Elon Musk, looks set to ditch light mode, leaving you with only one: dark.

Read more
WhatsApp now lets you add short video messages to chats
WhatsApp logo on a phone.

You can now send short video messages in a WhatsApp chat, Meta announced on Thursday.

A video message can last for up to 60 seconds long and is protected with end-to-end encryption.

Read more
Musk shows off new X sign on top of San Francisco HQ, but the city’s not happy
The new X sign replacing the Twitter logo on the company's headquarters in San Francisco.

Soon after Elon Musk tweeted a drone video showing a new white light in the shape of an X atop the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Friday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the city had decided to launch in investigation over concerns that the sign's installation may have broken rules.

The X logo is replacing the iconic Twitter bird as Musk continues efforts to rebrand the social media platform that he acquired in October.

Read more