X Accuses Music Publishers of ‘Weaponizing’ Copyright Takedowns
▼ Summary
– X is suing the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and music publishers, accusing them of colluding to coerce X into industrywide music licensing deals.
– The lawsuit alleges the NMPA “weaponized” copyright law by bombarding X with thousands of weekly takedown notices to gain negotiating leverage.
– X has faced significant copyright and piracy issues, exemplified by the repeated posting of an entire movie on the platform in 2023.
– This lawsuit is part of a larger, ongoing legal battle where the NMPA previously sued X for $250 million over alleged copyright infringement.
– X is seeking monetary damages and a court order to prevent the NMPA from forcing it into collective negotiations with publishers.
The legal dispute between the social media platform X and major music publishers has escalated dramatically, with X now filing an antitrust lawsuit alleging a coordinated campaign to weaponize copyright law. The platform, owned by Elon Musk, accuses the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and its members of colluding to force X into accepting industry-wide licensing agreements by flooding it with takedown requests. This strategy, according to the lawsuit, was designed to deny X the ability to negotiate competitively with individual publishers, leveraging the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as a tool for coercion rather than protection.
Filed in federal court, the legal action claims the NMPA initiated a systematic effort in 2021, “bombarding X with takedown notices every single week” targeting thousands of user posts. The core allegation is that this was not a good-faith effort to address infringement but a tactical move to gain negotiating leverage. X argues this constitutes an abuse of the DMCA’s safe harbor provisions, which are intended to shield platforms from liability when they promptly remove content upon receiving valid notices.
This lawsuit represents the latest development in a protracted and costly conflict over music copyrights on the platform. The NMPA had previously sued X for a staggering $250 million in damages, alleging “massive” infringement involving over 1,700 musical works. That case remains active, with a judge having upheld significant portions of it earlier this year. Interestingly, despite the fierce litigation, reports from late 2025 indicated that both parties had made “very substantial progress toward a settlement,” suggesting these new antitrust claims could be a strategic countermove in complex negotiations.
X’s history with copyright enforcement has been turbulent, particularly following Musk’s acquisition. The platform has faced persistent issues with users uploading full-length films and other copyrighted material, highlighting ongoing challenges in content moderation. In its new filing, X is seeking monetary damages and a judicial order to prevent the NMPA from orchestrating what it calls collective pressure, aiming to secure the right to negotiate licenses freely in what it believes should be an open market. The outcome could set a significant precedent for how copyright enforcement intersects with antitrust law in the digital age.
(Source: The Verge)
