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Could Fair Use Be A Liability?

One of the biggest stories surrounding the YouTube community as of late is the lawsuit against YouTubers Ethan and Hila Klein of h3h3 productions by fellow YouTuber MattHossZone for a reaction video that he deemed unflattering. Even though almost every other major internet personality has rallied around Ethan and Hila, with a GoFundMe started by Philip DeFranco gaining well over $150k, they are going to still court and will need to fight for Fair Use in front of a jury. Should people be able to use copyright claims to take down unflattering videos? Has Fair Use become too vague to be used as a defense? Is there something YouTube can do as the leader in online video content to combat this?

  • Wow, that is scary. Sounds like good old censorship at work. Insulting or criticizing someone is something we should all be entitled to, within reason. There have been other cases like this on youtube. It seems like those with deep pockets and sensitive egos will always try to sue others to shut them up. Perhaps youtube could make users sign an agreement before starting a youtube channel that the user accepts that response videos may happen and that no legal action can be taken, or a user's account will be suspended. – LisaDee 9 years ago
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