In the fight to protect the owners of intellectual property, Twitter will no longer be deleting infringing material, but rather simply withholding it, according to a tweet posted over the weekend by Jeremy Kessel, the company’s legal policy manager.
“In an effort to be as transparent as possible regarding the removal or restriction of access to user-posted content, we clearly mark withheld Tweets and media to indicate to viewers when content has been withheld,” according to Twitter’s official copyright policy section, linked to by Kessel.
A copy of each Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice—and any counternotices—will then be sent to Chilling Effects, a site that posts redacted versions of the requests.
The term “chilling effect” refers to any practice of a constitutionally protected right that is inhibited by threat of legal repercussions, in this case, the right of free speech.
In an ongoing case incorporating the chilling effect principle, Kim Dotcom’s site MegaUpload was shut down for allowing people who purchased intellectual property like songs and movies to share those items with others at no charge. A practice Dotcom likens to free speech.
Twitter’s increased transparency can be seen as a move to preempt similar criticism of their own censorship practices by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs indicating what was removed and why. by Michael del Castillo , Technology & Innovation Editor
