I view the Internet as possibly the greatest boon to education since the advent of the printing press. More people have availability to more information than ever before in the history of the world.

The problem is what we do with that information. In the context of the incident in question I see many problems.
1 - Why is it that the woman waited until AFTER the video was posted to report the rape? Yes, I know that rape victims tend to get a raw deal when they come out and file a report, but if they DON'T report it they are simply enabling their rapist(s) to carry on with his activities.

2 - How many people who viewed the video actually assumed it was a standard homemade porn video? The woman was drugged and non-responsive so there were no indications that she was fighting back. And those KINDS of videos are readily available almost anywhere on the web.

3 - It is obvious that YouTube is more concerned with the quantity of videos posted, since that affects their advertising revenues I assume, than in policing the videos when they are posted. If they reviewed videos BEFORE they were posted there would be a lot less problems. And a lot less money.

If this incident happened as reported, and I have no reason to believe it didn't (the Duke "rape" case has me a little leery of the media in these kinds of cases) then the kids involved do indeed deserve whatever punishment is meted out to them. A few years in an adult prison might give them some idea of what their victim endured. They would be sweet young meat for some of the regulars there!

But I don't think you can blame YouTube or the Internet for the morals of the world. A search back through history will show that there is very little going on now that hasn't happened before. The difference now is that the rapists, or other criminals, are so wrapped up in their own egos that they post evidence which can put them in prison! Taken in that context, places like YouTube actually perform a civic service, though I know that's not their purpose.