Link: A fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and it’s not clear YouTube can stop him

In late September, Dominik "Domtendo" Neumayer faced a potential channel shutdown due to copyright strikes, later suspected to be fake. Discovering inconsistencies, such as a takedown notice from a personal email address, raised his suspicions.

Despite "Let's Play" videos typically being tolerated by gaming companies like Nintendo for their promotional value, Domtendo received two strikes with threats of more. This inconsistent enforcement hinted at possibly fraudulent actions.

YouTube initially removed Domtendo's content based on these requests, demonstrating the platform's vulnerability to seemingly legitimate but fraudulent takedown notices. Over six percent of public takedown requests on YouTube are suspected to be fake.

Upon further communication, Domtendo received more threats from the same source, still using a questionable email address. These continuous and aggressive demands exacerbated his concerns about the legitimacy of the claims.

After consulting with Nintendo directly, it was confirmed that the email address used for the takedown notices did not align with their standard practices. This revelation highlighted the ease with which individuals could exploit YouTube's copyright system.

Domtendo's ordeal underscores significant flaws in the automated systems handling copyright claims on platforms like YouTube, where false claims can jeopardize creators' careers. YouTube's approach to these issues remains a critical area for improvement to protect content creators from malicious actors. #

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Yoooo, this is a quick note on a link that made me go, WTF? Find all past links here.