united-states copyright dmca online
Is there any &quot;enforceable&quot; protection for the uploader from fake DMCA takedown requests?
<p>I know that a request must be "under penalty of perjury". But that doesn't protect against fake information. Anyone, and especially parties outside US jurisdiction, (and even more so in countries which don't have an extradition treaty with the US) can contact or fill out a web form stating whatever is needed. They can even create a bot to do that automatically.</p>

<p><em>Why would someone do that?</em></p>

<p>Terrorism, racketeering and simple extortion, or just for fun / malice. The point is that removing content (even for a short while, not followed by any legal action) can be very damaging.</p>

<p><em>How is this different from other perjury threats?</em></p>

<p>When someone physically goes to court they take a chance, they can be arrested. It's also much more resource intensive. But fraud over the internet is much less hazardous (for the felon), and much easier.</p>

<p><strong>EDIT</strong></p>

<p>Apparently the question wasn't clear enough. I know that in a "normal" case, there is enforceable protection. That's the "perjury" part. That's why I put the word <em>enforceable</em> in quotes. My question is about the cases I mentioned above. I'm asking if there's any deterrent for those who give false information about themselves or who are not in the US. All as stated above.</p>

<p>The victim of a bad-faith takedown notice can pursue a civil claim against the person filing the notice. Such actions have sometimes led to sizable rewards.</p>

<p>Diebold, for instance, paid out $125,000 after a judge found that it had violated the DMCA by submitting a takedown request against a group that published internal Diebold e-mails acknowledging problems with the company's electronic voting machines. <a href="https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/text_blocks/29431" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Online Policy Grp. v. Diebold, Inc.</em>, 337 F. Supp. 2d 1195 (N.D. Cal. 2004)</a>.</p>

<p>If a bad-faith takedown is filed with a false name and false contact info, I don't see how action is to be taken. I suppose that an investigation might reveal who actually sent the takedown, but in practice i don't see who would be both able and willing to make such an investigation, much less then act on its result. I doubt that any law-enforcement agency would.</p>

<p>If a bad-faith takedown is filed by a party outside US jurisdiction, then a suit would need to be brought in a jurisdiction that can reach the entity that filed the takedown. I don't know which, if any jurisdictions would allow such a suit, but I suspect not all would. </p>

<p>The original poster of content may have no practical recourse in either case.</p>
