YouTube says it hasn't seen a significant boost in the number of flawed takedowns, but it's clear that the Google-owned outfit is trying to head off a potentially larger crisis. If the service develops a strong reputation for pulling or otherwise neutering legitimate videos and leaving creators hanging when they ask for help, its biggest stars might jump ship. What's to keep a "let's play" host from moving to Twitch, or a movie critic from giving up entirely? While there are no guarantees that YouTube's efforts are enough (some want it to reduce or eliminate its dependence on automated screening), it knows it can't just remain idle.

Update: YouTube tells us that copyright wasn't under discussion as part of the reforms -- rather, it was policy and monetization concerns. We've updated the post accordingly.