A consortium of 17 prominent music publishers has taken legal action against Twitter in a federal court in Nashville, Tennessee. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, accuses the social media giant of enabling widespread copyright violations by permitting users to share music without obtaining the necessary licenses.
According to the plaintiffs, Twitter actively facilitates the dissemination of "countless infringing copies of musical compositions," resulting in severe copyright infringement. The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), comprising industry heavyweights such as Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, and Universal Music Publishing Group, is seeking damages exceeding $250 million for the alleged infringement of nearly 1,700 copyrights.
The lawsuit claims that the problem of copyright infringement on Twitter has escalated since the platform came under the ownership of Elon Musk in October. In contrast, other major platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube reportedly adhere to proper licensing procedures when it comes to music published by these music publishers.
Twitter has not yet responded to the lawsuit or issued an official comment on the matter.
David Israelite, President of the NMPA, expressed his concern in a statement, stressing that Twitter is the "largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service." He criticised Twitter for its consistent failure to address instances of repeat infringement by users who post tweets containing unlicensed music. The music publishers contend that Twitter actively encourages user infringement, leveraging it to boost user engagement, increase advertising revenue, and gain an unfair competitive advantage over platforms that compensate for music licenses.
The plaintiffs argue that Twitter's handling of matters relevant to this case is in disarray, citing substantial reductions in the company's legal and trust-and-safety teams since Musk's involvement began. These cuts further underscore the alleged negligence of Twitter in addressing copyright violations on its platform.
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