Twitter Faces $250 Mln Lawsuit From Music Publishers Over Copyright Infringement
Music publishers have filed a lawsuit against Twitter seeking damages exceeding $250 million, claiming that the social media platform enables “massive copyright infringement” that harms music creators.
The lawsuit alleges that Twitter has allowed its users to share copyrighted songs without obtaining proper licenses for years. Furthermore, it asserts that the situation has worsened since Elon Musk acquired the company for $44 billion and downsized its workforce.
According to the National Music Publishers’ Association, which represents major players such as Universal, Sony, and Warner Music Group, Twitter’s permissive stance toward users sharing copyrighted songs, combined with the platform’s promotion of tweets featuring copyrighted music, has fueled the company’s growth in an unlawful manner.
The complaint specifically points out over 1,700 songs that Twitter has allegedly infringed upon, including popular hits like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” Outkast’s “Hey Ya!,” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars.
The complaint argues that Twitter’s financial interests are served by the availability of videos containing music, including copies of the publishers’ compositions. By not paying licensing fees for the musical compositions, Twitter gains an unfair advantage over competitors such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, all of whom pay licensing fees to rightsholders for using copyrighted music.
This lawsuit adds to Twitter’s existing legal risks, as the company is currently under investigation by the US government for possible violations of privacy and security agreements with the Federal Trade Commission. The case has been filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, and its outcome will be closely monitored by both the music industry and social media platforms.
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