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YouTube sent incorrect copyright claims to millions of videos: REPORT

According to a new report, between January and June of this year, more than 2.2 million YouTube videos were subjected to copyright claims that were later overturned.

The Copyright Transparency Report is the first of its kind published by YouTube, which has stated that it will be updated biannually in the future, according to The Verge on Monday.

The 2.2 million incorrect claims represent less than 1% of the more than 729 million total copyright claims issued in the first half of this year, with Content ID, YouTube’s automated enforcement tool, accounting for 95% of them.

When users disputed these claims, the case was resolved 60% of the time in favour of the video’s uploader, according to the report.

Though erroneous copyright claims are a drop in the bucket on a larger scale, YouTube creators have long complained about how the platform handles claims, claiming that overly aggressive or unjustified enforcement can result in lost revenue.

Copyright claims can result in the blocking of videos, the muting of audio, or the return of ad revenue to the rights holder.

According to the report, this new report gives shape to a problem that YouTube itself has acknowledged requires updating.

In a blog post in 2019, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki stated that the company had heard creators’ concerns and that YouTube was working to address them “exploring improvements in striking the right balance between copyright owners and creators”.

The new report acknowledges that “no system is perfect,” and that errors occur even when established safeguards to prevent abuse of enforcement mechanisms are in place.

“When disputes take place, the process provided by YouTube provides real recourse, and over 60 per cent of these disputes were resolved in favor of the uploader,” the report said.

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Brendan Taylor

Brendan Taylor was a TV news producer for 5 and a half years. He is an experienced writer. Brendan covers Breaking News at Insider Paper.







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