Nuked Hello my fellow tech enthusiasts! It seems that Twitter is in hot water once again, as the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has filed a lawsuit against the social media giant for alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit, which represents 17 music publishers, claims that Twitter has been using countless infringing copies of musical compositions to fuel its business, violating the exclusive rights of publishers and other artists under copyright law.
The NMPA has also included a list of around 1,700 songs that they claim have been included in multiple copyright notices to Twitter without any action taken by the company. The lawsuit is seeking fines of up to $150,000 for each violation, which could amount to a whopping $250 million in total.
Interestingly, this issue predates Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter last year. According to unnamed employees cited by The New York Times, Twitter had cut a music licensing deal due to the high cost, which could have amounted to over $100 million per year. However, licensing deals between three major labels and Twitter reportedly stalled after Musk’s takeover.
The lawsuit also mentions some of Musk’s tweets about copyright and the DMCA, including one where he advised a user to “consider turning on subscriptions” to hide infringing material and avoid being flagged. The NMPA claims that Twitter has failed to remove infringing content even after being notified, and has “continued to assist known repeat infringers with their infringement.”
It’s worth noting that most other large social networks have already cut deals with music publishers and labels. The lawsuit lists TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat as examples. Amazon-owned Twitch also announced an agreement to “work together” with the NMPA by September 2021 after a similar dustup with the music industry last year.
As of now, Twitter has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit, and Musk has been tweeting about other topics such as crime in San Francisco. It remains to be seen how this legal battle will play out, but it’s clear that copyright infringement is a serious issue that social media companies need to address.
What do you think about this lawsuit against Twitter? Do you think they are guilty of copyright infringement? Let me know in the comments below!
