Don Henley: DMCA's Section 512 is 'a relic of a MySpace era in a TikTok world'

By Emmanuel Legrand

A few days after the US Copyright Office published a 200-page report concluding that the section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was “unbalanced,” the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Thom Tillis (R-NC) admitted that the takedown notices system designed by the DMCA may require a complete overhaul.

  “From both user and creator perspectives the current system is failing badly,” Tillis said. “We may need to design an entirely new system.” Tillis doubled down by stating that “the grand bargain of the DMCA is no longer working and not achieving the policy goals intended.”

  Tillis was making the introduction remarks to a new hearing his Subcommittee was hosting on the issue of reviewing and modernising the DMCA. The hearing, titled 'Is the DMCA’s Notice and Takedown System Working in the 21st Century?', saw Eagles co-founder Don Henley testify virtually with the ambition to “change outdated laws that have been abused for 20 years by Big Tech.”

A broken system

  “It is clear that the massive online services are flourishing while artists have no ability to combat the rampant infringement that happens on these platforms,” said Henley, who explained that the notice and takedown system inherited from the DMCA “does not work for artists and songwriters.” He called the system “antiquated and badly broken” and “a relic of a MySpace era in a TikTok world.”

  Henley said the onus should on the digital platforms to make the system work: “Many of the platforms have the tools to do it – it’s just beyond their desire. These tech giants are afraid that blocking infringing content will decrease traffic.”

  Henley's comments were supported by Douglas Preston, President of The Authors Guild, who described the internet as “a virtual candy store for the wholesale stealing of the creative work of authors.”

No need for change

  Providing a different perspective was Jon Berroya, Interim President and CEO of the Internet Association (IA), which regroups some of the biggest tech companies. For Berroya, the DMCA's Section 512 has served its purpose. “The digital ecosystem is thriving thanks to this law,” Berroya said. “It gives platforms the legal certainty necessary to host user generated content, and users can enjoy and create a wealth of legal content that has been embraced.”

  Berroya also brushed out the notion that the DMCA needs to be modernised. “A legal change is not necessary to create incentives for work already being done,” he said.

  Further coverage on the hearing can be found on the Copyright Alliance blog and on IP Watchdog.