takedown
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Facebook is testing a tool to let users claim image rights
Facebook's Rights Manager of Images could make it easier for creators to issue takedown requests.
Netflix removes a 'Designated Survivor' episode in Turkey
Censors objected to its depiction of a fictional US-Turkey conflict.
Facebook reveals the AI tool it used to ban 6.6 billion fake accounts
Today, Facebook unveiled a machine learning tool that, in the last year, has removed more than six billion fake accounts. That's in addition to the millions of new fake accounts that Facebook blocks from being created daily. According to Facebook, the tool has been in production for two years and it's one of the most advanced methods Facebook has for fighting bogus accounts.
Netflix says it's only obeyed nine government takedown requests
Netflix hit the headlines last year when it pulled an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj that was critical of Saudi Arabia from its streaming service in the country. As it turns out, the company has only ever removed titles or episodes nine times after formal takedown requests from governments.
YouTube sues user who extorted others through fake takedown requests
A lawsuit filed by YouTube yesterday claims that a user abused its copyright infringement reporting system to extort fellow YouTubers and carry out a swatting attack. YouTube alleges that Christopher Brady, of Omaha, Nebraska, filed dozens of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices, which falsely claimed that materials posted by other users infringed his copyrights. Not only were the takedown notices bogus, they were allegedly part of Brady's plan to extort money from those users.
Facebook bans hundreds more pages relating to Myanmar conflict
Just a week after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted he "doesn't know enough" about the political situation in Myanmar, following his series of tone-deaf tweets applauding the country, Facebook has taken further action to stymy the calls to violence made on its platform. The network has now banned an additional 425 pages, 17 groups, 135 Facebook accounts and 15 Instagram accounts, adding to takedowns made in August and October.
YouTube took down FCC's 'Harlem Shake' video for 7 hours
Remember when "Harlem Shake" musician Baauer said he'd take down FCC chairman Ajit Pai's video marking (and really, trivializing) the death of net neutrality? He meant it... although his effort didn't last long. The Verge notes that Baauer's label Mad Decent successfully removed the video from Daily Caller's YouTube channel with a copyright notice for a whopping 7 hours -- not much more than a momentary blip. The brief success is highlighting the concerns about the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach to copyright takedowns at sites like YouTube.
Google had over 75 million takedown requests last month
Last month, Google processed over 75 million search takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), or over 100,000 links per hour. That's more than double the number of links it processed during the same period last year, and over 300 times more requests than in 2012. So why the dramatic increase? Obviously, the amount of pirated content has increased exponentially on the internet, as Torrent Freak points out. At the same time, the MPAA, RIAA and other copyright-holders are now using algorithms that spot pirated content (often incorrectly) and automatically file takedown notices to Google.
YouTube foots the bill for video makers to fight copyright takedowns
YouTube is no stranger to cases of copyright infringement, and it's lending a hand to video creators who are involved in the disputes. The video-hosting site says that it will cover the legal fees for a few content creators that are fighting the demands of copyright holders with fair use claims. It's only offering support in four cases right now, but the company doesn't rule out expanding that number in the future. By offering assistance, YouTube hopes to not only educate the masses on fair use, but also foster loyalty among users who house their content on the site. "We want, when we can, to have our users' backs," said YouTube's legal director for copyright Fred von Lohmann. "We believe even the small number of videos we are able to protect will make a positive impact on the entire YouTube ecosystem." The new policy also helps combat the takedowns of legally posted content, keeping videos that should be available to the masses online. [Image credit: AP]
'Revenge porn' peddler banned from posting images without consent
If your significant other sends you artful nudes, it'd be pretty nasty to share those pics in the event of your separation. It's a feeling that the Federal Trade Commission shares after handing down a judgment on Craig Brittain, the owner of a website that many believe traded in revenge porn. Is Anybody Down was a site catering for user-submitted smut that, perhaps obviously, was believed to be used by jilted lovers trying to get one over on their exes. The site itself shuttered a while ago, but the FTC has now ruled that Brittain cannot publicly share photos of people online without their permission, and destroy any archives that he still has. Failure to comply with this will be met with a $16,000 fine for each and every individual violation.
Porn studios' copyright takedowns are making it hard to find code
Aggressive anti-piracy efforts often have their share of unintended victims, but the porn industry's crackdowns are leading to some decidedly unusual collateral damage: open source software. TorrentFreak notes that copyright takedown requests from studios like Wicked Pictures are removing Google search results for GitHub code projects whose names are only vaguely similar to adult movies, or even the studios' names. Among the casualties are Facebook's Rebound (a spring physics add-on), Netflix's Lipstick (workflow visualization) and OpenSUSE Linux's Wicked (a network setup tool).
Studios asked Google to pull 345 million pirate links in 2014
Google may be bending over backwards to eliminate piracy in its search results, but it's clearer than ever that the internet giant is fighting an uphill battle. TorrentFreak has sifted through Google's weekly data to discover that the company fielded over 345 million copyright takedown requests in 2014, or a rate of nearly one million per day. As you might have guessed, most of these calls for action come from movie and music studios trying to pull links to bootleg copies of their work. The British Phonographic Industry is by far the most aggressive copyright holder -- it asked Google to yank more than 60 million music-related links.
Activision issuing DMCA takedowns on Call of Duty exploit videos
Activision is issuing copyright strikes on YouTube videos that "promote cheating and unfair exploits" within its Call of Duty series, Eurogamer reports. Gaming network Machinima warned its userbase in an e-mailed newsletter this week that videos showcasing glitches in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare are currently being targeted for DMCA takedowns, and affected accounts will receive copyright strikes. YouTube users who earn multiple copyright strikes risk having their accounts permanently disabled. "Activision is being particularly vigilant about their Call of Duty videos lately; issuing strikes on videos showing glitches," Machinima's statement reads. "If you post videos highlighting these glitches, your channel may be liable to receive a copyright strike so please be careful." Activision issued a response to Eurogamer claiming that it intends to curb cheating and unfair play within Advanced Warfare's multiplayer mode. "We're excited that so many fans are having fun playing the game and posting videos of their gameplay," an Activision representative wrote. "We love watching the videos ourselves. Occasionally, some folks post videos that promote cheating and unfair exploits. As always, we keep an eye out for these videos - our level of video claims hasn't changed. We are appreciative of the community's support in helping to ensure that everyone has the best playing experience possible." [Image: Activision]
Microsoft court order shutters Chess 2 servers
Ouya chess variant Chess 2 currently lacks its key asynchronous multiplayer component as a result of a Microsoft-issued court order levied against the game's DNS management service. Chess 2's DNS service No-IP issued a statement regarding the takedown, noting that Microsoft seized 22 of its domains after finding evidence of malware creators distributing harmful software from its subdomains. "We have been in contact with Microsoft today," No-IP reports. "They claim that their intent is to only filter out the known bad hostnames in each seized domain, while continuing to allow the good hostnames to resolve. However, this is not happening. Apparently, the Microsoft infrastructure is not able to handle the billions of queries from our customers. Millions of innocent users are experiencing outages to their services because of Microsoft's attempt to remediate hostnames associated with a few bad actors."
Takedown heading to XBLA and Steam on September 20
Takedown: Red Sabre will launch on XBLA and PC via Steam on September 20, Creative Director Christian Allen told Joystiq at PAX Prime. The tactical shooter will cost $14.99, and will see an early release for Kickstarter backers. Takedown developer Serellan received funding on Kickstarter for the game in April 2012, prior to finding a publishing partner in 505 Games in February. Takedown is a squad-based, tactical first-person shooter, billed as a spiritual successor to the original Rainbow Six and SWAT 4. It will feature six-player cooperative and 12-player competitive multiplayer modes, as well as mod support for Steam users looking to create their own battle arenas.
Takedown: Red Sabre bringing tactical shooting back to Steam and XBLA
Indie developer Serellan billed its first-person shooter Takedown: Red Sabre as a "spiritual successor to the original Rainbow Six and SWAT 4" when the developer successfully raised $221,833 on Kickstarter in April 2012. Squad-based tactical shooters, where real-life military tactics take priority over the run-and-gun trappings of triple-A shooters, are arguably harder to come by and have become a niche in the broad FPS genre. Crowdfunding Takedown made more sense to creative director Christian Allen then, who told Joystiq at E3 that "part of [the decision to crowdfund] was figuring out what people really care about and what people really wanted." The project's 5,423 backers saw promise in the game, due in no small part to the team's history; Allen is a former creative director on the Ghost Recon series and was design lead for Halo: Reach. Perhaps equally reassuring for tactical shooter fans is the fact that Allen spent about nine and a half years serving in three different United States military branches: Four years as law enforcement in the Marines and over five with the Air Force and Army. Takedown: Red Sabre features single-player, six-player co-operative and 12-player competitive multiplayer modes. Like tactical first-person shooters of the past, sprinting through the non-linear maps isn't a viable strategy, as the game places an emphasis on slow, strategic and realistic warfare. Part of that realism comes from the work put into the game's weapons: Allen said that creating just one gun for the game takes about three weeks of development time for the Seattle-based team of about 10 developers. %Gallery-192121%
Retro Game Music Bundle hits copyright issues, loses Duke albums
The Retro Game Music Bundle features previously unreleased soundtracks and special remix albums for classic games, and when we first heard about it, the deal sounded almost too sweet to be true – and now it partially is. The bundle received a takedown notice from an entity claiming ownership of music in the Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem II, Major Stryker, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and the Nukem 3D: Remixes albums, and those are now removed from the website entirely. Before launching the Retro Game Music Bundle, the team signed contracts with copyright owners, but now a separate group is claiming ownership of some music, resulting in the removal of those albums, Bundle frontman Chris Crawford told Joystiq. "All of these releases were created by our team, and we spent a little over two months putting these albums together with brand new recordings from an authentic Sound Blaster 16 with DOS installed (remember that?), brand new artwork and a ton more work," Crawford said. "Particularly special: We had many tracks on the Duke Nukem 3D soundtrack that were put together and mastered by Hyperduck Soundworks – the guys behind the Dust: An Elysian Tail soundtrack as well as so many other great things. They did an excellent job, and we're very sad the world isn't able to grab it." Crawford and the Bundle team also put together the Duke Nukem 3D remix album, with songs by Disasterpeace, Virt and other composers. He is working to get all of the albums reinstated in the Retro Game Music Bundle. For now, the team added three albums to the second, $10-or-more tier: Nimble Quest, Potatoman Seeks the Troof and Pixel Perfect Micro. The Retro Game Music Bundle is available for three more days, with tier one (spend $1 or more) now including the soundtracks for 7th Guest/11th Hour, Myst, Jazz Jackrabbit 1 and 2, and Tyrian. Tier two has 12 albums, including Shadow Warrior, Jazz Jackrabbit 3 and Double Dragon Neon.
Google Transparency Report shows censorship spike, details takedown requests
Governments are getting nosier than ever, at least if you ask Google. The search firm has already noticed rapidly mounting censorship in recent months, but its latest half-year Transparency Report has revealed a 26 percent surge in takedown requests toward the end of 2012 -- at 2,285 total, more than twice as many as in 2009. Much of the jump can be attributed to Brazil, whose municipal election triggered a rush of anti-defamation requests from candidates, as well as a Russian blacklisting law that allows for trial-free website takedowns. Whether or not the heat dies down in 2013, we'll have a better sense of just what happens when a YouTube request comes down the pipe. From now on, Google will say whether government-based demands to remove videos were based on YouTube's Community Guidelines or were directly linked to regional laws. Google isn't any more inclined to comply with such requests -- it argues those Brazilian clips are free speech, for example -- but we'll have a better sense of just how easy it is for the company to say no.
RIAA copyright takedown requests to Google reach 10 million
Something tells us they won't be handing out gold watches for this milestone. Just eight months after Google added copyright takedown requests to its Transparency Report, the search firm can claim to have almost exactly 10 million such requests from the RIAA. A dive into the numbers very quickly explains just how they built up so quickly. The RIAA and the music labels attached to it have topped at least the most recent monthly requests, and they're collectively issuing hundreds of thousands of notices every week. We certainly don't expect the industry group to hang up its hat just because it's at a nice, round figure: when pirate sites rarely stay down for long, and the RIAA all but accuses Google of being an accomplice to piracy despite censorship concerns, the current game of infringement whack-a-mole is only likely to continue.
Google reveals government censorship requests are on the rise
Google's updated its transparency report to show how many times governments worldwide sought to censor search results, drop YouTube videos or look at user data in the second half of last year. Each request is logged and detailed, with the most filings coming from the US, UK and India. The requests varied from censoring a video where a Canadian citizen creatively destroyed his passport (not complied with) through to blogs promoting hate speech and violence (complied with). Mountain View's list makes for interesting reading, but it's not all bad news: where videos were merely critical or satirical of the local authorities, the search giant refused to pull 'em, respecting private citizens right to free speech in a great majority of cases.
