Platforms are far too aggressive in removing legal speech including journalism when copyright holders (defined *very* loosely) demand it. I’m not aware of any that even follow the DMCA (which allows users to reject infringement claims). Would be great to see them do better. @jack https://t.co/aDd69lE760

— Parker (@pt) April 14, 2019

Just to recap, this is a DMCA takedown of a tweet that simply contains a link to a news article. If you're not disturbed by that, you should be https://t.co/ls6ROItwzt

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 14, 2019

"Officer, it was terrible! Someone broke in and started issuing DMCA takedown notices in our name!"

"Of course, sir. It happens all the time." https://t.co/CR41qIsaZg

— Cathy Gellis (@CathyGellis) April 15, 2019

Twitter, stop enabling .starz's control freakery. https://t.co/Jq6KsGj2Rs

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) April 14, 2019

This weekend, @STARZ used a bogus copyright notice to take down our tweet about THEIR bogus copyright notice to @torrentfreak, who had the audacity to report on leaked episodes of TV shows.

Say it with us: It's Not Infringement To Report On Infringement. https://t.co/dVUx7DfiPD

— EFF (@EFF) April 15, 2019

This is not anything the Digital Millennium Copyright Act supports, and both @STARZ and Twitter should damn well know better. So should anybody who bothers to read the law. https://t.co/58rxtbKyKp

— Rob Pegoraro (@robpegoraro) April 14, 2019

[twitter voice] we can't ban the nazis, it's much too hard, and anyway there's a little thing called free speech, maybe you've heard of it https://t.co/JGJ2oNTaMF

— uɐɯlǝıɥ⊥ ɯɐS (@samthielman) April 15, 2019

I’m enjoying the hell out of this. https://t.co/ASBwdjZWoh

— Eva (@evacide) April 15, 2019

Damnit people WE'RE the victim here!* https://t.co/lyeI8JEmCv

— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) April 15, 2019

Corroborated by https://t.co/FXRex6enHy But hey, copyright infringement justifies anything, doesn't it, because of the poor and starving artists! https://t.co/Z44rHUXfTd

— Walter van Holst ?? (@whvholst) April 15, 2019

This is a disturbing application of DMCA against legitimate news coverage. https://t.co/0Cj8XF3mjj

— Jeremy Littau (@JeremyLittau) April 15, 2019

This article appears to be a news article about piracy, not piracy. https://t.co/tS7CmUiBNh https://t.co/7nVIiLQUD6

— Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) April 14, 2019

I don't see how dispute resolution mechanisms can ever be cheap enough to run at scale. I think it's always going to be easier to take stuff down unless doing so garners the platform sufficiently bad press.

— catcoder ? (@crankycatcoder) April 14, 2019

This is Kafka-esque: I posted yesterday about Twitter removing a tweet from TorrrentFreak because it contained a link to an article about pirated copies of Starz shows appearing online (with no links to said content). Twitter has now removed my tweet linking to that story pic.twitter.com/pKF4VCRSit

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 14, 2019

Please do this to protest Twitter's craven acquiesce to Starz's outrageous abuse of copyright takedown system. https://t.co/Jq6KsGj2Rs

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) April 14, 2019

EFF’s Tweet About an Overzealous DMCA Takedown Is Now Subject to an Overzealous Takedown https://t.co/q4xF4b77Vo via @eff

— Dwight Silverman (@dsilverman) April 15, 2019

Imagine trying to explain this to someone 25 years ago. https://t.co/IDpI2ESEgx

— David Jolly (@davjolly) April 15, 2019

I encourage everyone to link to this TorrentFreak article that Starz doesn't seem to want us to link to. How many tweets could it take down? https://t.co/s24zNXcMCk #StreisandEffect https://t.co/ls6ROItwzt

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 14, 2019

Ye olde we waz hackt defense https://t.co/flYHrrJBe7

— Ryan Singel (@rsingel) April 15, 2019

This story about DMCA abuse by ⁦@STARZ⁩ on Twitter absolutely deserves some Streisand Effect-ing. https://t.co/iiAhP4CrqS

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 14, 2019

I'm not into torrents as a rule (because I'm anti-piracy as a rule). But I'm super against stupid corporate censorship. Eat your heart out Starz... https://t.co/8j4nDRoxPZ https://t.co/1CeDVzpA4q

— Jake Williams (@MalwareJake) April 14, 2019

Again, while we wait for our original tweet to be restored: Using screenshots in a story on infringement is an important part of reporting, and (deep breath) a tweet about a bogus takedown of a tweet about someone else’s infringement is not infringement. https://t.co/kbVkUF5fcT

— EFF (@EFF) April 15, 2019

Starz Goes on Twitter Meta-Censorship Spree to Cover Up TV-Show Leaks https://t.co/bphfE7QCVl

— TF (@torrentfreak) April 15, 2019

Twitter: meh on white supremacy

very concerned about people mentioning torrents https://t.co/KLIqQylqyZ

— Justin Ling (@Justin_Ling) April 14, 2019

So, it turns out that @Starz issued an "apology" to others, but to me they just whined that I didn't give them enough time to respond, even though my article came out much later than most others. Nice one, guys. https://t.co/A718Vdiou3

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) April 15, 2019

Ha. But even assuming that’s true, what’s Twitter’s excuse? https://t.co/YRBRWgTuBW

— Bjorn Larsen (@bjorn) April 15, 2019

If the platform asks the user and the user says it’s not infringing, there’s no liability for the platform & the recourse is to litigate. Obviously that would not happen in this case.

I get why platforms bias here to conservative lawyers, but the safe harbor is really safe.

— Parker (@pt) April 14, 2019

The @Starz Twitter takedown frenzy now extends to articles describing articles that people link to on Twitter. This one, for example: https://t.co/wnu8vZaPYh not to mention the original piece: https://t.co/eXKNeiUgZR Do the Internet a service and point to both, please.

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) April 15, 2019

Update: Starz apologizes for over-zealous tweet takedown spree, tells Variety it hired a third party outfit that got carried away https://t.co/M24bqmlo7e

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

Twitter leadership is a parody. Twitter is actually run like Hooli.प https://t.co/AJTM1h4cLX

— Manan ??‍♂️ (@manan) April 15, 2019

It looks like Starz has issued an apology for this weekend's takedown binge involving TorrentFreak: https://t.co/WFdCTNPu51. I haven't received any notice from Twitter that the takedown for my tweet was retracted. Curious if others have. https://t.co/tNBeo4W5Zu

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 15, 2019

Twitter can't fucking patrol trolls, but hey, bogus DMCA claims... we're right on those! https://t.co/Hb7uRBQJoW

— Rakesh Agrawal (@rakeshlobster) April 15, 2019

It's totally clear that the copyright people are to be trusted with lots of powers over the Internet, they are so not going to abuse it to censor or anything! So happy that the EU just voted to give them more well deserved powers. https://t.co/g111wikLHp

— Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi (@brokep) April 15, 2019

Just to update this story, I filed a counter-notice to Twitter yesterday, through the company's official process, making the case that this takedown was inappropriate and unjustified, but haven't heard back https://t.co/ls6ROItwzt

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

Now you can't even REPORT on copyright infringement. Even that is infringement, according to Twitter. Sigh. https://t.co/6fJDpUPsCW

— Phil Ken Sebben (@hundsnus) April 14, 2019

Whoa, that DMCA takedown is soooooo meta. https://t.co/y0oX5SPWEZ

— jillian (@jilliancyork) April 15, 2019

In case you missed all the excitement with Twitter taking down tweets (including two of mine) just for linking to a news article, here's a summary of what happened https://t.co/ydwB2VNJO6

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

So Twitter, which clearly has nothing better to do, spent the weekend taking down tweets of a @CJR reporter https://t.co/VJ1Xv6HcuK

— Kyle Pope (@kylepope) April 15, 2019

Tweet complaining about DMCA takedown abuse gets hit with DMCA takedown https://t.co/aze85t7gBG pic.twitter.com/SKOIZRSxMc

— The Verge (@verge) April 15, 2019

Starz apologized for "inadvertently" removing tweets that link to our reporting. https://t.co/bQd9QhYZ2Q Moving on.. pic.twitter.com/5R78sm02I4

— TF (@torrentfreak) April 15, 2019

In case you missed all the excitement with Twitter taking down tweets (including two of mine) just for linking to a news article, here's a summary of what happened https://t.co/ydwB2VNJO6

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

Starz Goes on Twitter Meta-Censorship Spree to Cover Up TV-Show Leaks https://t.co/bphfE7QCVl

— TF (@torrentfreak) April 15, 2019

Starz Goes on Twitter Meta-Censorship Spree to Cover Up TV-Show Leaks - TorrentFreak https://t.co/zzehqT9v2J via @mathewi

— Fuego (@NiemanLabFuego) April 15, 2019

The @Starz Twitter takedown frenzy now extends to articles describing articles that people link to on Twitter. This one, for example: https://t.co/wnu8vZaPYh not to mention the original piece: https://t.co/eXKNeiUgZR Do the Internet a service and point to both, please.

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) April 15, 2019

TorrentFreak has follow-up coverage this morning about Starz's abusive DMCA takedown binge over the weekend, undertaken to cover up the fact of embarrassing screener leaks to torrent sites. https://t.co/IrbWPETNa9

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 15, 2019

This weekend, @STARZ used a bogus copyright notice to take down our tweet about THEIR bogus copyright notice to @torrentfreak, who had the audacity to report on leaked episodes of TV shows.

Say it with us: It's Not Infringement To Report On Infringement. https://t.co/dVUx7DfiPD

— EFF (@EFF) April 15, 2019

It's totally clear that the copyright people are to be trusted with lots of powers over the Internet, they are so not going to abuse it to censor or anything! So happy that the EU just voted to give them more well deserved powers. https://t.co/g111wikLHp

— Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi (@brokep) April 15, 2019

アメリカの未発表のテレビドラマが流出したというニュース報道へのリンクを張ったTweetがDMCAテイクダウンをくらい、それを報じたEFFのtweetもDMCAテイクダウンを食らった。通知にあたって記入するオリジナルの著作物へのリンクにはn/aとあるのみ。https://t.co/DGBDj1Mb0j

— Ryou Ezoe (@EzoeRyou) April 15, 2019

Starz abuses the DMCA to remove EFF's tweet about Starz abusing the DMCAhttps://t.co/q6xZmOIJ2X pic.twitter.com/sxluidKkEz

— Masque of the Red Death (@doctorow) April 15, 2019

.@STARZ demanded Twitter remove a tweet from @torrentfreak linking to their article about leaked TV shows. Here's why the takedown was bogus: https://t.co/MCcozRT24j

— EFF (@EFF) April 12, 2019

Starz Doesn’t Like News About Leaked TV-Shows, Takes Down TorrentFreak Tweet https://t.co/EYzURHkd1e

— TF (@torrentfreak) April 11, 2019

This is insane — but it’s also exactly how the balance of power in the DMCA was set up by industry lobbiests. That this can and does happen is no accident or oversight. It’s careful design. https://t.co/x9Sl1bi7wj

— Adam Roach (@adambroach) April 15, 2019

Starz can get fucked.

Original TorrentFreak article: https://t.co/PhRHERKahZ
Follow-up article: https://t.co/H7NQ7q6Yhs https://t.co/vMrq8rd1lz

— Siguza (@s1guza) April 15, 2019

Starz Doesn’t Like News About Leaked TV-Shows, Takes Down TorrentFreak Tweethttps://t.co/l1h7djWDUF

— DontPunchPeople (@leonardjfrench) April 14, 2019

Hey @STARZ, let's get this party startedhttps://t.co/HFgEu9FM1Q

— Farley Houston (@FarleyGHouston) April 14, 2019

This story about DMCA abuse by ⁦@STARZ⁩ on Twitter absolutely deserves some Streisand Effect-ing. https://t.co/iiAhP4CrqS

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 14, 2019

"In most cases, there were visible signs revealing that the leaks were sourced from promotional screeners"

Ummm... maybe this is just one of the exact reasons NOT to give eps to screeners. #EspeciallyOnesThatFundScamEventshttps://t.co/ZY1neGhlAW

— SA7AH (@TinyTunney) April 14, 2019

So earlier in the week, we tweeted an article about Starzhttps://t.co/dxe8LIDeZ2
They took our tweet down.https://t.co/8zhPYbBmlm
Now they're taking down other tweets with these links to NEWS STORIES.
Fun times.
If it's happened to you, get in touch with me!

— K'Tetch (@ktetch) April 14, 2019

As Mike Masnick notes here, Starz's defense that this was just a result of an overzealous third-party seems dubious, since many of the takedown notices -- mine included -- came directly from Starz, not from a third party https://t.co/S9f2IVSH46

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

Starz is about to owe some attorneys fees. Taking down EFF tweets about the legality of a copyright takedown isn’t even close to legal. https://t.co/98Bap6XvN4

— Mark Lemley (@marklemley) April 15, 2019

Starz Really, Really Doesn't Want You To Know That TorrentFreak Wrote About Leaked Shows, Or That Anyone Tweeted About It https://t.co/bFgxNcAxyi

— threat level: beige (@TimCushing) April 15, 2019

So, it turns out that @Starz issued an "apology" to others, but to me they just whined that I didn't give them enough time to respond, even though my article came out much later than most others. Nice one, guys. https://t.co/A718Vdiou3

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) April 15, 2019

Overzealous defenders of overzealous takedowns use the language of criminal law to describe people who blow the whistle, even as the senders of the takedowns themselves realize their mistake and appropriately apologize: https://t.co/WFdCTNPu51. https://t.co/PShnwAZ3Oa

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 15, 2019

story by @jank0 -- Starz Apologizes for Taking Down Tweets to Torrentfreak Article Following Security Breach https://t.co/qDJ32zkctD

— Todd Spangler (@xpangler) April 15, 2019

Update: Starz apologizes for over-zealous tweet takedown spree, tells Variety it hired a third party outfit that got carried away https://t.co/M24bqmlo7e

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

It looks like Starz has issued an apology for this weekend's takedown binge involving TorrentFreak: https://t.co/WFdCTNPu51. I haven't received any notice from Twitter that the takedown for my tweet was retracted. Curious if others have. https://t.co/tNBeo4W5Zu

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 15, 2019

Starz Apologizes for Taking Down Tweets to Torrentfreak Article Following Security Breach https://t.co/K5jdpAlpvC via @variety

— Jim Tyre (@TyreJim) April 15, 2019

Just FYI, Starz has appropriately apologized for the overzealous takedowns: https://t.co/WFdCTNPu51.

— Annemarie Bridy (@AnnemarieBridy) April 15, 2019

Starz Apologizes for Taking Down Tweets to a Torrentfreak Article -- tip @techmeme https://t.co/iiQTI7Cb9E via @variety

— Janko Roettgers (@jank0) April 15, 2019

More on the Starz takedown drama https://t.co/vX29Kx77nU

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

It will be interesting to see if tweets about this Gizmodo piece are also taken down, since it uses the same screenshot from a pirated show as the original TorrentFreak story did https://t.co/vX29Kx77nU

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 15, 2019

lol this is a good sign of things isnt it https://t.co/7wt5922G4r

— mark (@markhurrell) April 15, 2019

Motherboard Twitter Removed Links to News Stories That Mentioned Leaked TV Shows: Starz used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to force Twitter to kill tweets about its leaked episodes of 'American Gods.' https://t.co/uuSP0WwL46 #Twitter #piracy #SocialMedia Via @motherboard pic.twitter.com/kPQMg0hsuf

— Bradley Jon Eaglefeather (@bjeaglefeather) April 16, 2019

Twitter blocks EFF tweet that criticized bogus takedown of a previous tweethttps://t.co/XO4LxS5eg5

— Puckett (@puckett101) April 16, 2019

#Twitter Blocks #EFF Tweet That Criticized Bogus Takedown of a Previous #Tweet | #ArsTechnicahttps://t.co/lUmK1Pdibv https://t.co/KiJ5SEW48O

— ?​?​?​?​?​ ?​?​?​?​ ?​?​?​?​?​?​ (@VisitBluePlanet) April 16, 2019

⁦⁦@Twitter⁩ blocks EFF tweet that criticized bogus takedown of a previous tweet | not only is their moderation ham handed, but it doesn’t even achieve the goals they set out https://t.co/8ouWDVaBys

— Jeff Nolan (@jeffnolan) April 15, 2019

© holders defending their Rights brings them ALL to the yard. Usual suspects messers @AnnemarieBridy @EFF @mathewi @jimmy_wales @JeremyLittau wading in to support accessories @torrentfreak
*⃣ @STARZ are justified to go to lengths for their content, © & ™https://t.co/zfhaFEidyM

— Netopia.eu (@NetopiaEU) April 15, 2019

“TorrentFreak reporting about an illegal event is not illegal. Reporting about copyright infringement is not infringement.” What a ridiculous chain of events that again uses © to censor journalism. https://t.co/fUssNR33sn

— Timothy Vollmer (@tvol) April 15, 2019

Whoa, that DMCA takedown is soooooo meta. https://t.co/y0oX5SPWEZ

— jillian (@jilliancyork) April 15, 2019

This is disturbing: Starz convinced Twitter to delete a tweet from TorrentFreak that linked to an article about episodes of TV shows appearing on torrent sites: https://t.co/b9V3tZ2XFl

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 13, 2019

Starz Doesn't Like News About Leaked TV-Shows, Takes Down TorrentFreak Tweet - TorrentFreak https://t.co/MkPEAsjUX5 pic.twitter.com/R9lWLtIb31

— Rich Tehrani (@rtehrani) April 15, 2019

Over-blocking: Not the first time that the #DCMA is abused and @Twitter is taking down legitimate speech https://t.co/ciPUovZ0JV

— Kirsten Fiedler (@Kirst3nF) April 16, 2019