A few days ago, our investigation into how ANI was using copyright strikes to squeeze YouTubers sparked a wave of outrage across social media.
But it wasn’t just ANI’s aggressive copyright claims that upset YouTubers. What truly made them feel abandoned was YouTube’s refusal to step in, even when YouTubers were acting within the bounds of law.
In its defence, YouTube told us that it doesn’t play judge in copyright disputes and lets the content owner and copyright violators hammer out a deal.
But reporter Ayushi Kar didn’t let it go unchecked. The Collective has now uncovered fresh evidence that contradicts YouTube’s stance. In at least one case, YouTube had intervened to challenge ANI’s takedown notice against a content creator who had clipped its visuals.
Contrary to YouTube’s claim of not being an adjudicator, in this case it demanded details from ANI to find out if the videos had been made under fair dealing provisions of the law or not. YouTube ultimately urged ANI to consider fair use by junking 14 copyright strikes.
This case raises serious questions: If YouTube claims not to adjudicate disputes, why did it step in here — and why not in others? Its approach seemed discretionary and opaque, leaving most YouTubers to fight it out on their own.
When The Collective asked it to share its standards, tests and parameters for fair use on its platform, YouTube did not reply.
Read the story here: YouTube Says it Doesn’t Judge Claims of Copyright Violation. We Found it Does.