So how does an online business get away with it?
Maybe because the original business model for YouTube was not a "for profit" model and somehow, that 'belief' still persists in the minds of some today - though no longer true, today. YouTube's TOS could be reduced to just one paragraph:
"These are the Terms of Service. We are the sole arbiters of any videos we approve. If we don't like your video we will delete, remove, make private and/or make un-searchable said video at will. We will change the rules of this TOS without notice and we will do that very frequently, just to upset you, especially if/when you post a video that we don't like. These rules are subject to change fluidly, making this TOS absolutely pointless. Thank you for playing our game."
At the end of the day, they own the Servers.
I've thought about building something equivalent to YouTube, but using a RackSpace type of virtualized hardware environment. People would then lease Video Server Services and promote their channel. The content would be their own and management of any social dialogue platform would be their own. If they so choose, a Monetization Plugin would be provided that gives Advertisers access to the channel's videos. That Plugin would also provide the channel's owner with rights of refusal - thereby making it possible to accept/deny any specific Advertisements on its channel. There would be no Big Brother in the sky watching over a channel owner's shoulder. There would be no centralized control over video content by the company providing the service.
This would be the purest form of Digital Art Expression in the public domain. No more different than getting into your vehicle, driving into town and engaging in whatever you like to engage in while in town. You can go into any city to visit a library, coffee shop, clothing store, bar, movie theater, music hall, gift shop, mall, hotel, dance club, whore house, jewelry store, museum, massage parlor, real estate office, car dealership, grocery store, sightseeing tour office, burger joint, steakhouse, chophouse, barbershop, gun store, sporting goods store, barbecue restaurant, car wash, firearms training facility, public park, ice skating rink, sports stadium, wine tasting room, etc., etc., etc.. All without anyone restricting your access to these places. So, these restrictions should not be placed on the very same content searchable and discovered on the Web.
The web is not a virtual world. It is the real world put into digital form. If what happens in Vegas, is allowed to stay in Vegas, then why does the Web have to be different. Some say, because children can more easily access the computer than they can an airplane ticket to Vegas. To that I say, learn how to cut them off at the Firewall and the Cable/Modem Router. Easily done with password protection and password change notification. Parents would have that responsibility and parents should have that responsibility.
In fact, truth be told, this entire subject comes down to Parenting - but precious few want to hear that message let alone actually be held accountable for their Parenting. Nope. Let's not go there.
