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This report includes data on DMCA takedown notices submitted through our web form or otherwise sent to Twitter, such as via fax or mail. For more information, please see our Copyright Policy.

We saw a 2% decrease in DMCA takedown notices submitted, and a 44% decrease in accounts affected. Tweets withheld and media withheld also dropped by 25% and 43% respectively, as Twitter’s operations were affected due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and a security incident in July 2020.

We provide affected account holders with a copy of the related DMCA takedown notice when their media or Tweets are withheld. The notification includes instructions on how to file a counter-notice (in case they believed the content was removed in error) and also how to seek a retraction from the original reporter.

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We do not withhold content in response to DMCA takedown notices that are incomplete, do not concern copyright issues, or that we determine to be fraudulent. We carefully review each notice, and follow up with the reporter as appropriate. In addition, there may be certain uses of copyrighted material that do not require the copyright owner’s permission, such as political speech, content that is potentially newsworthy, or cases of apparent fair use. This type of speech is protected under UN-recognized principles of free expression and may not violate Twitter’s Copyright Policy.

The following are examples of copyright takedown notices we determined were invalid due to misrepresentations made by the reporter or because the requests were overreaching.

Recent examples: