For those of you not aware of it it seems that Ustream.tv is actually enforcing thier terms of service. I heard via IRC last night that this is the case. Apparently, the terms of service have always stated that you must be 18 or older to be able to actually broadcast. This has cause a bit of a shock wave over at McInTec.net.
Most of what these young folks do is stream. They live for it. They script and code around being able to do it. About half of them are under 18 years old.
They operate at a G rated level and, most of them, are mature and well behaved for their ages. Personally, I think it is a shame that this is happening. The ability to stream with what is, in my humble opinion, the best streaming service out there empowered them to experiment with code, web design and, based on what I saw, was a very positive thing.
Personally, it impacts me none. Unless they up the age limit to something over 45, I am safe. I feel however that there should be some viable solution to this. I agree Ustream should have the right to set their own terms of service but cant we find some type of compromise on this one? I personally feel that parental control should be left to parents. Most IRC networks that I am aware of have a 14 year old policy, why is streaming video so different than chat?
Jason has created a petition for those who feel this is not right. He is basically asking Ustream.tv to lower the broadcast limit to 14 years of age. If you feel this is reasonable would you please head over there and sign it.
Feel free to leave your thoughts via a comment
Comments (1)
Actually Ustream has always enforced thier TOS (ask any of the users removed for copyright infringement or objectionable material). The terms of the TOS are quite clear for those that take the time to read it, however being under 18 does not mean a young person cannnot stream, nor will he be automatically removed for streaming under age, what it does mean is that an adult must be ultimately held responsible for the content being broadcast. In these crazy times it is not an unreasonable request, in that a parent or guardian need to be able to monitor exactly what their little darling is broadcasting. Unlike social media sites Ustream is a live broadcast to the world and once an enfringement occurs it cannot be retreived or corrected post production. So sign 'em up, let them have fun,but watch, like a famous man once said "Trust but verify"
italics by lumpy
Thanks for the info. To be honest i have not read the TOS since I signed up for the service. I really appreciate you taking the time to look into this and will try and join you in your forum very soon. I will also do a follow up post on this over the weekend.
Posted by ustreamtech | May 15, 2008 2:13 PM
Posted on May 15, 2008 14:13