YouTube Obeys Fake Takedown Request From 15 Year Old

YouTube Obeys Fake Takedown Request From 15 Year Old : “Want a video removed from YouTube? Send along a fake takedown notice pretending to be from the copyright holder. At least, it’s a prank that worked for a 15 year old from Perth, Australia, who sent a signed form to YouTube pretending to be from the Australian Broadcasting Company. The form requested the takedown of hundreds of clips from ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’.”

(Via Mashable.)

I have to admit that I can understand how this would happen.

1. Given both the lack of authenticity you see in a lot of genuine communications from Banks or companies (that come from only an IP address, or some internal server, etc.) and the general difficulty of verifying identity online.
2. The current litigious atmosphere in business in general makes it hard to argue for erring on the side of not taking every incoming item carefully. Afterall, if you were a junior-ish person processing these requests, would you like to go on the line if it meant possibly being held responsible for exposing the company to a lawsuit?