The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought comprehensive details from Meta regarding its criteria for granting creators access to its Rights Manager tool, after allegations that fraudsters were misusing the platform to lodge bogus copyright claims against original content. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani directed Meta to place on record its policy governing access to Rights Manager, including the eligibility requirements and reasons for which applications may be rejected. The court questioned the rationale behind restricting access, with 'Why doesn't everybody have access to it then?' Justice Bhambhani asked, as reported by Hindustan Times. According to Bar and Bench, the bench was direct in its criticism, remarking 'It is like giving the key to the robber and not to the owner of the house.' The court specifically asked Meta to disclose its policy and eligibility requirements for accessing the tool and explain why applications are rejected, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Mohit Kumar, an artificial intelligence, business and e-commerce coach who publishes educational content on social media under the name 'Rise With Mohit', filed the lawsuit against Meta. Kumar alleged that unknown persons downloaded his videos, registered them through Rights Manager as their own content and then used the system to issue copyright strikes against his accounts. Kumar had sought access to the tool three times but was turned down without being given a clear explanation, as reported by Hindustan Times. His counsel argued that people with only a few hundred followers appeared to have obtained access, despite established creators with substantial engagement and commercial collaborations being denied the facility, as reported by Hindustan Times. According to Bar and Bench, Kumar's counsel argued that fraudulent copyright strikes could cause a genuine creator's account to disappear overnight, wiping out years of work, monetisation, brand collaborations and business opportunities.
According to Meta's official blog, 'Rights Manager is a video, audio and image-matching tool that we developed for rights holders of all sizes — from individual creators to media publishers, sports leagues, music labels and others — to identify and manage their content on Facebook and Instagram, including Live videos'. Rights Manager allows copyright owners to upload and maintain a reference library of content they want to monitor and protect, as reported by Business Standard. When the system finds matching content, rights holders can take actions including blocking the content, claiming eligible advertising revenue, applying attribution or reporting the material for copyright infringement, Meta explained. Access to Rights Manager is not automatically available to every Facebook or Instagram creator - the tool is available to eligible rights holders who must apply for access, with Meta's published information not providing a simple, public checklist covering every criterion used to approve or reject applications.
The Court criticized Meta's approach, stating 'It is like giving the key to the robber and not to the owner of the house.' The counsel argued that fraudulent copyright claims could have serious consequences for creators, including the loss of accounts, monetisation, brand partnerships and years of accumulated content. Meta told the court that the copyright strikes issued against Kumar had been reversed and that content removed pursuant to those claims had been restored, as reported by Hindustan Times. Meta further submitted that Kumar's accounts had not been suspended and remained accessible, as reported by Hindustan Times. Meta agreed to reconsider Kumar's application for Rights Manager access and to provide the relevant policy and eligibility criteria to the court, as reported by Business Standard. The court also directed that content deleted following fraudulent copyright strikes should be restored if Kumar provides material establishing his ownership and showing that the claims were false.
Justice Bhambhani observed that concerns surrounding the misuse of copyright enforcement mechanisms appeared to be recurring across cases involving content creators and warranted closer examination. 'There are some chinks in the armour, some loopholes that have been noticed. We better sort it out,' the judge said, noting that deficiencies in the system were contributing to increased litigation. The court noted that the problem was contributing to increasing litigation, as reported by Hindustan Times. The court issued summons in Kumar's suit and notice on his application seeking interim relief, as reported by Hindustan Times. The matter will next be heard on September 24, along with a connected case raising similar concerns, as reported by Hindustan Times. The same judge is also considering whether social media platforms can suspend or delete accounts solely because of copyright strikes, that issue arises from a petition filed by content creator Saurabh Maurya, whose Instagram account was suspended after a copyright strike that was later found to be false, as reported by Hindustan Times.
