Google insiders say that the company is “philosophically opposed” to passing judgment on what should and should not appear on its sites.

They say that Google exists to make digital content universally available, by making it searchable on the web or by giving the public the means to post their own, homemade videos on YouTube. Policing what appears is not part of its remit, they add.

The law, as it stands, is on Google’s side. As long as the company removes pirated material from YouTube in a timely manner when alerted by a disgruntled owner, it has done its duty, lawyers say.

Viacom is seeking to test that law and is using the fact that Google has already been forced to rejig its stance as leverage.

Google is working on a filtering system that would automatically identify pirated material posted on YouTube.

Such technology runs counter to Google’s policy of only reacting to pirated content but the company recently promised to roll out some sort of antipiracy measure across YouTube “soon”. Not soon enough for Viacom, however, which alleges that YouTube has deliberately “avoided taking proactive steps” to stop piracy.

Google has set aside $200 million to deal with YouTube’s piracy issues. If the courts agree with Viacom and rule that YouTube should play proactive policeman — as well as reactive philosopher — Google could pay out five times that sum to Viacom alone.

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