Google asked to police stolen webcam videos on YouTube
Webcam hijackers capture videos of web users, often without them knowing
Webcam hijackers capture videos of web users, often without them knowing
YouTube should do more to police and remove video clips made using hijacked webcams, say digital campaigners.
In a report released at the Black Hat conference, the Digital Citizens Alliance said it had found thousands of videos on YouTube that featured stolen footage.
In total the clips had racked up millions of hits, said the group.
Webcam hijackers profited from their trade via adverts on videos and by selling access to some streams.
Adam Benson, deputy director of the non-profit DCA, said the trade in stolen webcam footage was "troubling" and called on Google, which owns YouTube, to stop relying on computer-based methods to find and remove the videos.
In other cases involving videos that showed shocking or illegal images, YouTube had deployed teams of people to handle complaints and hunt down offending clips, he said.
"The humans can see things that the algorithm is just not going to pick up," he said.
In a statement, Google said: "YouTube has clear policies that outline what content is acceptable to post and we remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users."
The same should be done with these clips that often frighten, humiliate and terrorise victims, said Mr Benson.
Webcam hijackers capture videos of web users, often without them knowing
Webcam hijackers capture videos of web users, often without them knowing
YouTube should do more to police and remove video clips made using hijacked webcams, say digital campaigners.
In a report released at the Black Hat conference, the Digital Citizens Alliance said it had found thousands of videos on YouTube that featured stolen footage.
In total the clips had racked up millions of hits, said the group.
Webcam hijackers profited from their trade via adverts on videos and by selling access to some streams.
Adam Benson, deputy director of the non-profit DCA, said the trade in stolen webcam footage was "troubling" and called on Google, which owns YouTube, to stop relying on computer-based methods to find and remove the videos.
In other cases involving videos that showed shocking or illegal images, YouTube had deployed teams of people to handle complaints and hunt down offending clips, he said.
"The humans can see things that the algorithm is just not going to pick up," he said.
In a statement, Google said: "YouTube has clear policies that outline what content is acceptable to post and we remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users."
The same should be done with these clips that often frighten, humiliate and terrorise victims, said Mr Benson.
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