YouTube and Piracy (2)

In our last article, we looked at, among other things, the measures taken by YouTube to fight stream-ripping. But that is often not enough to prevent it; that is why many countries are taking measures of their own. However, the position of the European Union remains problematic for rights holders.

National measures

Denmark

Denmark, for example, recently added YouTube rippers to its blocking list. A pioneer of site blocking, Denmark began blocking 17 years ago, and since then more than 200 sites have been added to ISP lists. In September 2022, nine new sites were added, and with targets such as y2mate.com, savefrom.net and loader.to, the focus is on YouTube rippers.

YouTube was in fact among the “pirate sites” most used by Danish Internet users (along with… Facebook).

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In 2018, Denmark became the first country to take blocking measures against pirates on YouTube. With these court decisions, rights holders hope it will be harder for the public to download from streaming sites. However, history also shows that blocking is not a miracle solution.

Reasons given by English users for using stream-ripping

United Kingdom

For its part, the United Kingdom succeeded in having stream-rippers removed from Google search results in September 2022. Indeed, following a blocking injunction and the request to remove thousands of links leading to the sites in question, the music producers BPI and PPL sent a UK High Court order to Google, asking for the listed domains to be removed. Although Google is not legally required to comply, it did so voluntarily, but only for the United Kingdom.

The position of the European Court of Justice

However, the European Court of Justice ruled clearly in 2021, following a preliminary question raised by the German courts, that YouTube was not directly responsible for content posted by users on the platform as long as it plays only a passive role that does not actively encourage users to share illegal content.

The Court did specify, however, that YouTube has an obligation to take action once it becomes aware of illegal activity. The platform’s liability would then be engaged if it refuses to act.

In June 2022, the German supreme court replied and handed down a ruling stating that online video-sharing platforms could be held liable for the uploading of content infringing copyright. Platforms would be liable only if they did not act immediately, but they would be liable nonetheless.

The CJEU, however, will probably not confirm its position, and will continue to defend the non-liability of platforms in this specific case, which will therefore not allow European Union member states to pass national laws to that effect. The German court’s ruling nonetheless sends a strong signal of states’ desire to fight this phenomenon.

YouTube adapts

Moreover, YouTube continues its efforts to fight the illegal uploading of videos. In spring 2021, for example, the platform changed how video uploading works. Indeed, now, when the user adds their video to their channel, an algorithm analyzes it to detect any copyright issue likely to restrict its visibility at the time of upload. This new “Checks” feature is accessible via YouTube Studio.

However, if you are a rights holder, you have most certainly already noticed one of your works on the platform. Moreover, discussions and private messages on networks such as the r/Piracy subreddit very regularly refer to illegal content on YouTube.

These measures, even if they help fight piracy, are far from sufficient and must absolutely be supplemented by action from rights holders: searching for content infringing their copyright and sending takedown notices.

Join us on May 15 for our next two-part article on copyright on another platform with a more complex situation: Twitch, the bastion of video game streaming (but not only).

In the meantime, if you have content to protect, whether a film, a series, a music album or a live event, don’t hesitate to contact one of our account managers; we will be happy to help you so that you can take back control of your revenue!