GitHub restored the code because the copyright infringement allegations were unfounded and instituted new procedures to avoid similar errors in the future
YouTube-dl tool interface (tool screenshot) YouTube-dl source code , software used to download videos from YouTube, was restored by GitHub after the portal had removed it following a request made by the Recording Industry Association of America (Riaa), the US organization that represents record labels.The portal found the appeal unfounded, restored the tool code and decided that future reports for dubious copyright infringements will receive a technical and legal review before taking action. It also set up a $ 1 million fund dedicated to defending developers in the case of reckless copyright infringement allegations.
The case dates back to the end of October, when Riaa sent a complaint to GitHub claiming that YouTube-dl violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (Dmca), a US copyright law. According to the organization, by doing so, GitHub was encouraging hacking.
While GitHub was removing the code, the community of programmers, deeming the accusation unfounded, through word of mouth led in a very short time to the creation of almost 4 thousand new repositories containing YouTube-dl. The story reached the ears of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (Eff), an international non-profit organization that deals with the protection of digital rights.
With a letter sent to GitHub, Eff explained that the YouTube-dl project has never violated the DMCA. According to the analysis of the non-profit experts, Riaa allegedly based the accusation on an incorrect interpretation of the functioning of the YouTube-dl code. For record labels, the tool would have illegally circumvented the system used by YouTube to protect copyright. This action would violate section 1201 of the DMCA which refers to all cases that circumvent copyright protection systems. YouTube-dl, however, does nothing of the kind since it does not decrypt an encrypted work or use backdoors to illegally access the content. Therefore the accusation was unfounded. Reason enough for Github to sprinkle its head with ashes and restore the code.