Microsoft is no longer allowing new users to register so they can upload videos to their Soapbox service. However, current users are free to keep uploading and watch videos. The purported reason for this is so they can put a better filtering system in place.
There is no doubt that Microsoft is a fan and enabler of DRM schemes in general. So allowing one of their own sites to host what they consider “pirated” content would not sit well with them, or their new partners AOL and Yahoo. They can’t allow infringing, or potential infringement, to eat into their profits. In the end, I find it hard to see how their service will compete with YouTube which is far more open.
