Abusing Copyright Laws For Censorship

[From article]
But now Correa has gone international. He’s using phony copyright claims to force American companies such as YouTube and Google to remove videos and documents that criticize his government.
Last month, more than 140 videos posted by Chevron abruptly vanished from YouTube, replaced by notices that said they were yanked due to copyright-infringement claims by a Spanish video-distribution company called Filmin.
[. . .]
But YouTube, like many Internet companies, doesn’t want to get dragged into a potentially expensive and time-consuming lawsuit over somebody else’s copyrights. So it simply took down Chevron’s videos without investigating Filmin’s claim.
[. . .]
If Correa is willing to mess with a $200 billion corporation on the Internet, then he’s certainly not going to hesitate to mess with you.
[. . .]
blogger Steinbaugh. “This abuse is growing. Any person or corporation can misuse this law to punish someone who criticizes them. It’s a real weakness in the law, which offers no incentive for Internet companies to question copyright-infringement claims, no matter how doubtful they are.”

During the few years I posted videos on YouTube, persons claiming to be the "copyright holder" filed complaints with YouTube alleging violations. Under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, if the provider (YouTube) takes down a video, the poster can appeal. YouTube notifies the "copyright holder" of the appeal. The "copyright holder" has 10 days to go to court to file a complaint. If they do not YouTube must repost the video. It is an inconvenience but it does weed out the fake claims and claimants. After a few months of such complaints I learned it was a Boston Police officer who was making the fake claims. YouTube does not investigate the claimants to ensure they are legitimate. 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2013/12/19/phony-copyright-claims-exploit-holes-in-u-s--internet-law.html

Glenn Garvin commentary

Phony copyright claims exploit holes in U.S. Internet law


Thursday December 19, 2013 5:35 AM