Facebook is developing a content identification system to fight copyright infringement, reports the Financial Times.
According to a source that spoke with Billboard, the system is similar to YouTube’s Content ID, which identifies videos containing copyrighted music. When the system finds a match, YouTube does what the copyright holder asks it to do with the video: mute it, block it, leave it alone, or monetize it with ads.
The report follows an increase in copyright enforcement on Facebook, which has resulted in blocked videos and in some cases disabled accounts. Both pre-recorded and live videos have been affected.
The stepped up enforcement has been a rude awakening for DJs, as Facebook had long been a haven for mixes and turntablism routines. Takedowns and disabled accounts had been relatively rare, compared to YouTube and SoundCloud.
Facebook’s new content ID system will likely result in a further increase in blocked videos and disabled accounts.
“[Facebook sees] the huge amount of traffic music content is responsible for on their platform and [doesn’t] want to be on the wrong end of an artist fight,” a music industry source told Billboard. “They also see that there’s a potential opportunity to position themselves as friendly to content creators as opposed to YouTube, so they are working fast to get this right.”
Billboard also reports that Facebook is currently in talks with major labels to license content, though the Financial Times cited a source saying a deal would not be done before the spring.
“The reality for Facebook and YouTube is that more and more they are transitioning from tech platforms to media companies,” the source told Billboard. “And the more they look like media companies, the more they are going to have to act like them and respect creators and pay for content.”
Related: DJ Mixes Are Now Legal on SoundCloud, Says Founder