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YouTube Reposts Anti-Scientology Videos

Posted by timothy on from the fun-and-easy-to-destroy-stuff dept.

Ian Lamont writes "YouTube has reposted anti-Scientology videos and reinstated suspended YouTube accounts after receiving thousands of apparently bogus DCMA take-down notices. Four thousand notices were sent to YouTube last Thursday and Friday by American Rights Counsel, LLC. After YouTube users responded with counter-notices, many of the videos were reposted. It turns out that the American Rights Counsel had no copyright claim on the videos, and the group may not even exist, although the text of the DCMA notices have been linked to a Wikipedia editor. While filing a false DMCA notice is a criminal offense, prosecution in these cases rarely comes about."

7 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. Isn't it also illegal by S7urm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not just to file fraudulant DMCA notices, but also to do so in the name of a Business that doesn't exist? I'd think someone, somewhere would want to take this opportunity to finally push back and sue for false allegations filed by a fradulant company in the name of an entity that was not part of the original notice. Might make a statement, (especially from YouTube) that we won't simply allow people to negligently file take down notices on material they don't even own the copyright to.

    --
    "This is the value of a summer spent and a winter earned"
  2. Re:Should be worth pressing charges. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Exactly. It might be economically worth their time for Google to set the precedent that bogus DMCA notices en masse will lead to a lawsuit, so that they can limit the number of staff they'll have to hire to handle requests.

  3. Mission Accomplished by rekoil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They now have the names and addresses of the posters who responsed with DMCA counter-notices, and those individuals are now free to be "fair-gamed".

  4. Re:What's with the scientology hatred? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you're an old usenet geek, you have plenty of reason to hate them. If you're an old slashdot geek, you also have plenty of reason to hate them. If you're a YouTube user, you also have plenty of reason to hate them. I'd wager that large parts of /. fall into all three categories.

    There's been no large, concentrated legal attack on internet freedom from the other religions, to my knowledge, so I feel Scientology is rightfully getting attacked. If you also take the threats of violence, the stalking by PIs, the systematic exploitation of their own members and everything else into account, then it's an even easier choice.

    Also of note is that Scientology is just as hateful towards gays as the Big Three religions, so I'm not sure where you're going with that.

  5. Outed? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I wonder if it has occurred to anyone else that this is actually an attempt by the Scientologists to get names and addresses of the people who uploaded the content? Scientology is well known to harass such people, who understandably tend to want to stay anonymous.

    But now, anyone who filed a counter-response to the Take Down is "outed" on documents that Scientology can subpoena.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  6. What's Scientology? by King+Gabey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Funny, I never would have viewed any of those anti-scientology clips if it weren't for these bogus take-down notices...

  7. Re:Racial Bigotry by Rumagent · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, because a zombie born by a virgin and fathered by sky-guy is sane.