Reddit Banned 2,625 Subreddits For Excessive Copyright Infringement In 2021 (torrentfreak.com) 13
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: In 2021, Reddit's users created nearly 5.8 billion posts, comments, private messages and chats across the platform, with 297,161,752 later being removed by moderators (around 175.8k), removed by site admins (108.6K), and the authors themselves (12.6K). Content can be removed for a variety of reasons. 'Content manipulation' is the largest category and encompasses spam, community interference (so-call 'brigading'), vote manipulation, and similar issues. For the purpose of this report, however, we'll home in on the copyright issues faced by Reddit during the last year and how the site responded to them.
In common with the vast majority of large companies based in the US, Reddit has to follow the requirements of the DMCA which means that when it receives a valid copyright notice, it must comply by taking the identified content down. On the other hand, when submitters send notices that are incomplete or invalid in some other way, Reddit does not. "In 2021, Reddit received 177,450 copyright notices reporting 920,672 pieces of content. This represents an increase of 104% from 2020. We removed 665,898 pieces of content in response to these takedown notices," the company reveals in the latest edition of its transparency report.
Under the DMCA, Reddit is also required to take "appropriate action" against so-called "repeat infringers", which in the company's case can involve the termination of not only user accounts but also entire subreddit communities, especially ones where "excessive amounts" of infringing content keep getting posted. "In 2021, Reddit permanently suspended 2,813 users and banned 2,625 subreddits for excessive copyright infringement," the company writes. These figures represent a substantial increase over those published for 2020. In that year, Reddit banned just 303 users and terminated 514 subreddits. Although overall copyright complaints are up 104% on the previous year, the site's termination policy doesn't appear to have changed significantly. "With around 297 million pieces of content removed by Reddit in 2021, the 665,898 pieces removed on copyright grounds represent a small fraction of the overall problem," concludes the report. "However, with user accounts and entire communities on the line, consequences can be great when errant users repeatedly and intentionally overstep the line."
In common with the vast majority of large companies based in the US, Reddit has to follow the requirements of the DMCA which means that when it receives a valid copyright notice, it must comply by taking the identified content down. On the other hand, when submitters send notices that are incomplete or invalid in some other way, Reddit does not. "In 2021, Reddit received 177,450 copyright notices reporting 920,672 pieces of content. This represents an increase of 104% from 2020. We removed 665,898 pieces of content in response to these takedown notices," the company reveals in the latest edition of its transparency report.
Under the DMCA, Reddit is also required to take "appropriate action" against so-called "repeat infringers", which in the company's case can involve the termination of not only user accounts but also entire subreddit communities, especially ones where "excessive amounts" of infringing content keep getting posted. "In 2021, Reddit permanently suspended 2,813 users and banned 2,625 subreddits for excessive copyright infringement," the company writes. These figures represent a substantial increase over those published for 2020. In that year, Reddit banned just 303 users and terminated 514 subreddits. Although overall copyright complaints are up 104% on the previous year, the site's termination policy doesn't appear to have changed significantly. "With around 297 million pieces of content removed by Reddit in 2021, the 665,898 pieces removed on copyright grounds represent a small fraction of the overall problem," concludes the report. "However, with user accounts and entire communities on the line, consequences can be great when errant users repeatedly and intentionally overstep the line."
And... (Score:2)
"Reddit Banned 2,625 Subreddits For Excessive Copyright Infringement In 2021"
And...so what?
Re: (Score:2)
they probably should ban all subreddits if that is their metric
Re:And... [Reddit is irrelevant] (Score:2)
Pretty good FP for a story that is at the bottom of the front page with nine comments.
I poke at Reddit about once a year. Last poke was a month or two ago. "It's still dead, Jim."
From another optic, (Score:1)
maybe there could be less bans for copyright violation if the copyright laws were not so jacked to protect certain groups of media. For example, I agree posting an entire movie (as a single or multiple pieces) crosses the line, but sharing up to as much as any length as decided by the copyright holder is stupid at best and only proves the so called fair use is but a pretext to get folks sued.
Re: (Score:2)
So? (Score:1)
I Ignore Reddit Whenever Possible (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I have had luck getting information on computer and server recommends and advice (homelabs).
I also enjoy reading up on other users thoughts for TV shows I watch. IMDB used to fill that void until they shut down their forums.
Copyright Strikes for Content Removed by the Mods (Score:3)
As a member of a subreddit which got banned and then later reinstated, I was curious what had happened, and it turns out that part of the reason for the high numbers is that Reddit was banning subreddits which had high rates of users posting content which violated copyright even when the mods were quickly removing any such posts. A post which is "removed" from a subreddit is not publicly listed in that subreddit, but it can still be discoverable by following links from the user's profile or through web searches. Content owners have been finding these removed posts, sending DMCA requests (as is their right), and then the subreddit (to which they were posted and then removed) is getting copyright violation strikes. This has even included posts which were automatically removed as spam.
Here's a post on reddit from a mod about this problem.: We need to talk about how DMCA strikes are affecting NSFW links [reddit.com] Warning: although this post is not NSFW, it contain links (appropriately labeled) to posts and subs which are.
Reddit still a hive of scum and villainy (Score:2)
While Reddit may have removed over 2,600 subreddits for copyright infringement, there are still plenty providing links to pirated software and counterfeit goods.
Here are ninety-nine (99) subreddits that have been actively involved:
r/360hacks/ r/3dshacks/ r/3dspiracy/
r/a:t5_3nggh/ r/accountselling/ r/Addons4Kodi/
r/alexandria/ r/animepiracy/ r/ApksApps/
r/Archiveteam/ r/CemuPiracy/ r/CrackSupport/
r/CrackWatch/ r/deemix/ r/DHExchange/
r/DolphinEmulator/ r/EBook_Resources/ r/emulation/
r/every
Re: (Score:2)
That's terrible! I will have to investigate those subreddits further just to see what despicable content lies within them.
and banned ZERO pro-Chinese propaganda (Score:2)
The founders of Reddit are literally part of Xitler's propaganda team.