Technology, Culture, Commentary on the Internet Revolution

Teen Plays on YouTube Paranoia

by Mike Abundo on April 15th, 2007

I’m a huge YouTube fan, but I’m really disappointed that they let people abuse the DMCA to protect themselves. First it was Viacom’s indiscriminate takedown notices, and now it’s some kid’s fake takedown notices.

Want a video removed from YouTube? Send along a fake takedown notice pretending to be from the copyright holder. At least, it’s a prank that worked for a 15 year old from Perth, Australia, who sent a signed form to YouTube pretending to be from the Australian Broadcasting Company. The form requested the takedown of hundreds of clips from “The Chaser’s War on Everything”.

YouTube not only reacted, but sent warnings to all the uploaders saying their accounts would be deleted if they persisted. As it turns out, the ABC actually encourages the spread of Chasers clips, since they consider the comedy series to be a good promotion for the channel’s content.

As far as I know, DMCA takedown notices require sworn statements. I’m not surprised some kid would commit hundreds of counts of perjury to try and become the next Michael Crook. What surprises me is that he’d actually get this far. Seems YouTube’s recent legal hassles really got them paranoid.

On a more positive note, props to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for understanding the promotional value of YouTube. All video content producers should take a hint from these guys. To reward their cluefulness, I’m showing you a collection of hilarious clips from their excellent comedy series, The Chaser’s War on Everything.

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POSTED IN: TV, Video, YouTube