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No Downtime for Free Speech

Whether you are quoting someone on your blog, inserting clips of CNN into your own video news report, or using a song sample in a musical parody, your free speech often depends on incorporating and referencing other people's creations as part of your own. The courts call this "fair use" and strong legal precedents exist to protect the limited use of copyrighted material in your work when you do so for expressive purposes. Unfortunately, copyright owners often object to these uses and may look for ways to take them offline via the legal system. A copyright cease-and-desist letter to your webhost or ISP may be all it takes to make your online speech disappear from the Internet — even when the legal claims are transparently bogus. In particular, copyright claimants are increasingly misusing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to demand that material be immediately taken down without providing any proof of infringement. Service providers fearful of monetary damages and legal hassles often comply with these requests without double-checking them despite the cost to free speech and individual rights. The DMCA also puts anonymous speech in jeopardy; by misusing its subpoena power, copyright holders can attempt to unmask an Internet user's identity based on a mere allegation of infringement without filing an actual lawsuit or providing the user any constitutional due process. And it's not just copyright law that gets misused. Trademark owners can also use their rights to censor critics online by claiming that any domain name or website referencing their product is an infringement. Yet the First Amendment protects commentary and criticism using trademarks as well. Unless IP claimants are held accountable when they go too far, the situation for online speech will only get worse. EFF has been fighting to make sure copyright and trademark rights don't trump free speech by litigating against inappropriate uses of the law.

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EFF Related Content: No Downtime for Free Speech

Deeplinks Blog byCorynne McSherry | December 19, 2024

There’s No Copyright Exception to First Amendment Protections for Anonymous Speech

Some people just can’t take a hint. Today’s perfect example is a group of independent movie distributors that have repeatedly tried, and failed, to force Reddit to give up the IP addresses of several users who posted about downloading movies. The distributors claim they need this information to support their... ●Read more about There’s No Copyright Exception to First Amendment Protections for Anonymous Speech

Deeplinks Blog byCorynne McSherry | January 19, 2024

The No AI Fraud Act Creates Far More Problems Than It Solves

●Español Creators have reason to be wary of the generative AI future. For one thing, while GenAI can be a valuable tool for creativity, it may also be used to deceive the public and disrupt existing markets for creative labor. Performers, in particular, worry that AI-generated images and music... ●Read more about The No AI Fraud Act Creates Far More Problems Than It Solves

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Deeplinks Blog byCooper Quintin | October 4, 2022

Snowflake Makes It Easy For Anyone to Fight Censorship

Tor, the onion router, remains one of the most effective censorship circumvention technologies. Millions of people use the Tor network every day to access the internet without fear of surveillance and censorship.Most people get on the Tor network by downloading the Tor Browser and connecting to a relay. But... ●Read more about Snowflake Makes It Easy For Anyone to Fight Censorship

Deeplinks Blog byCorynne McSherry, Katitza Rodriguez | August 10, 2021

O (No!) Canada: Fast-Moving Proposal Creates Filtering, Blocking and Reporting Rules—and Speech Police to Enforce Them

●Español Policymakers around the world are contemplating a wide variety of proposals to address “harmful” online expression. Many of these proposals are dangerously misguided and will inevitably result in the censorship of all kinds of lawful and valuable expression. And one of the most dangerous proposals may be adopted in Canada.... ●Read more about O (No!) Canada: Fast-Moving Proposal Creates Filtering, Blocking and Reporting Rules—and Speech Police to Enforce Them

Deeplinks Blog byCory Doctorow | July 16, 2021

Right or Left, You Should Be Worried About Big Tech Censorship

Claiming that “right-wing voices are being censored,” Republican-led legislatures in Florida and Texas have introduced legislation to “end Big Tech censorship.” They’re right. Conservatives are being censored. But it’s not just conservatives who have their political speech blocked by social media giants. ●Read more about Right or Left, You Should Be Worried About Big Tech Censorship

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