Numerous reporters told Freedom of the Press Foundation that they rely on YouTube-dl when reporting on extremist or controversial content. For now, the code remains available to download through YouTube-dl’s own site, but the disruption of its development hub and the RIAA saber-rattling jeopardizes both the future of the software and the myriad journalistic workflows that depend on it. That versatility has secured it a place in the toolkits of many reporters, newsroom developers, and archivists. In fact, YouTube-dl is a powerful general purpose media tool that allows users to make local copies of media from a very broad range of sites. According to the RIAA, the tool’s “clear purpose” includes reproducing and distributing “music videos and sound recordings… without authorization.” The popular free software project “YouTube-dl” was removed from GitHub following a legal notice from the Recording Industry Association of America claiming it violates U.S. Higgins’ writeup is reposted here with permission. Under the Betamax standard, tools with substantial non-infringing uses should not run afoul of copyright law. Over at Freedom of the Press Foundation, Parker Higgins has highlighted how often this tool is used legitimately for journalism purposes, which is important. The RIAA claimed that the tool violated rules against circumventing DRM. A few weeks ago we had a story about the RIAA getting GitHub to remove YouTube-dl using a bizarre form of copyright takedown.
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