Some social media influencers on Facebook and Instagram are now dealing with a new and growing problem on the Meta-owned platforms: blackmail.
According to a new report: Bloomberg, Scammers are now issuing copyright takedowns on Facebook and Instagram for content they don’t own the copyright to, and they’re doing so using Meta’s proprietary rights management tools, which are meant to protect creators’ work.
Bad actors are trying to extort thousands of dollars from influencers, sometimes demanding regular payments to prevent future unlawful removals.
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Meta’s unique tools to blackmail influencers
A new report from Bloomberg focuses on social media influencers in the Middle East who found their content being taken down through Meta’s copyright management tool due to non-existent copyright issues. When these content creators contacted the contacts who issued the takedown orders through Meta’s system, the scammers behind the copyright infringement admitted there was no real copyright issue and then tried to extort money from them.
This scam appears to be on the rise on social media platforms, with scammers likely finding success with their fake piracy schemes.
One Iraqi influencer said the scammers offered to restore their removed content for $3,000, and then offered to stop issuing fraudulent takedown requests for their content if they paid a recurring monthly payment of $1,000, or a yearly upfront payment of $7,000.
Scammers have long used copyright as a weapon to try to extract money from Facebook users, but many of their attempts have gone unheeded because they typically consist of: Phishing emails Pretending to be a company employee.
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However, more resourceful scammers have begun to gain access to a tool that requires Meta approval, the Meta Rights Management Tool, through the black market where access is sold. With this tool, users can’t be blackmailed with the threat of copyright takedown, which would make extortion much easier.
Copyright takedowns are becoming a growing problem across social media
Content creators often have to deal with bad actors who steal their work from online platforms and upload it as their own. In many cases, these actors then monetize the content, essentially stealing money from the original creator.
To combat this issue, many platforms have rolled out rights management and copyright tools for major content creators and companies over the years. Essentially, these tools help creators take a proactive approach by establishing ownership rights over certain content. From there, creators can issue takedown orders when social media platforms detect their content being uploaded.
However, scammers have discovered that these tools allow them to upload stolen content as their own, leading the platform to mistakenly recognize the thief as the rightful owner.
This isn’t just happening on Meta-owned platforms – unfortunately, it’s quite common. Practice You can upload videos on YouTube through YouTube’s own copyright management tools for creators.
A case involving fake music copyright infringement on YouTube highlights just how lucrative the scam has become for scammers. According to Mashable: report In 2022, two scammers managed to steal over $23 million through YouTube’s Content ID system by simply claiming songs they had nothing to do with.
Because incentives for fraudsters exist, the risk of abuse is likely to increase until social media platforms become better able to remove bad actors from their copyright management tools.
Mashable has reached out to Meta for comment and will update if we hear back.
