Took me 4 months to fight a bogus DMCA on my own video

Wrote a review of a phone case. Company didn't like it. Filed a takedown on my whole channel. YouTube's appeals process is a black hole. Had to file a counter-notice. They gave me 10 days. Waited. Nothing. Took another 14. Finally got it restored. 4 months for a 2 minute video.

3 comments

3 Comments

keith_bennett8d ago

Used to think people were just being dramatic when they talked about Big Tech censorship. This video changed my mind completely. A company literally took down your whole channel over a phone case review. That's not even copyright law, that's just abuse of the system. And the fact that it took 4 months for something so simple to get fixed is ridiculous. The process is clearly designed to make you give up.

irisowens8d ago

File a DMCA counter-notice yourself, it forces them to actually review the claim.

shanef347d ago

4 months for a phone case review is just insane. I've seen this same thing happen with local restaurants getting their Google listings nuked over fake reviews too. The whole system is rigged so the person with the most money or the loudest lawyer wins, and regular people just get trampled. It's like when apartment complexes use bogus noise complaints to evict people they don't like, the process is there but the rules are made for the powerful. If you fight back they'll eventually fold, but they KNOW most people don't have the time or money to do it.