Creativity and Expression

The current rules around intellectual property (IP) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) are outdated and tilted against creators and service providers. They need a serious overhaul to protect innovation, free expression, and fairness to protect small creators from being choked out by legal risks.

Today’s DMCA puts way too much pressure on websites and platforms. If someone claims a copyright violation, service providers have to act fast and pull content down (no questions asked) or assume massive liability risks. The DMCA works under a "guilty until proven innocent" presumption, where legitimate work gets censored for days while creators scramble to fight back. This lets anyone wield copyright law to censor criticism, especially in time-sensitive content.

For creators, defending their right to use something is a nightmare. The system flips the burden onto them to prove they’re in the right, and if they lose, they’re stuck paying the other side’s lawyer fees. Copyright infringement is one of the few laws that requires defendants pay the plaintiff's fees if they lose, and it doesn't work both ways: if you win defending your fair use creative work, you don't get any money. That makes all copyright cases a lopsided gamble, especially for individuals or small businesses who can't afford to roll the dice. It scares people into silence instead of letting them stand up for their rights.

The process itself is sloppy. Anyone can file a DMCA claim against anything, without proving they even own the work or have registered it with the Copyright Office. You can receive a DMCA complaint from anyone in the world and still have to honor it. There's no requirement that a DMCA agent be a lawyer in any country. There's no accountability for bogus takedowns, leaving creators and platforms to deal with the fallout.

To counter any DMCA claim, you are also legally required to provide your personal information to the claimant, including where you live. In many cases you are already dealing with a hostile party trying to censor you. On platforms like YouTube, the DMCA process is routinely abused to 'dox' anonymous creators.

We need reform that balances everyone's interests. IP rules should encourage creativity, not punish it. Service providers should'’t be forced to play copyright cop. Creators deserve a fighting chance to defend their work without bankrupting themselves. Claims should come with real proof—like a registered copyright before anything gets yanked offline. The DMCA needs reform.