Indian Court Questions Meta Over Exploited Copyright Tools
India's Delhi High Court questioned Meta about how scammers can access its Rights Manager tool to issue fraudulent copyright strikes, the platform's policies for access, and rejection of creator applications.
The Delhi High Court has raised concerns regarding Meta's Rights Manager tool, questioning how bad actors are able to exploit it for fraudulent copyright claims. The court specifically asked Meta about its policies and eligibility criteria for granting access to the tool, and why applications from original creators are sometimes rejected.
This scrutiny follows a complaint by content creator Mohit Kumar, who alleges that scammers downloaded his videos, claimed them using Meta's Rights Manager, and then issued fake copyright strikes against his accounts. Meta has stated that Kumar's content has been reinstated and his accounts were not suspended. The court directed Meta to restore any content removed due to fraudulent strikes if ownership is proven.
This is not an isolated incident, as MediaNama has reported on similar alleged exploitations of Meta's copyright system. Previous cases include content creators receiving copyright notices filed in their own names or from unknown foreign email addresses, suggesting a systemic issue with the verification process.
The court is also examining more broadly whether social media platforms can suspend user accounts based on copyright strikes, especially when those strikes may be fabricated. Meta has previously admitted in a separate case before the same court that several copyright strike notices against another user were fake.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 24. Meta's Rights Manager FAQ states that the tool identifies content matches but cannot make legal determinations of infringement.