Youtube-dl is a legitimate tool with a world of a lawful uses. Demanding its removal from Github is a disappointing and counterproductive move by the RIAA. https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md
@eff
Isn't DMCA takedown meant for if the content itself is a violation of copyrights? Therefore, it would be appropriate to issue a DMCA takedown if youtube-dl itself was stolen from RIAA, but not for this. Am I right?
@nighthacker2003 basically, the DMCA makes it criminal to break any digital lock, regardless of how effective it is. It's a terrible thing for the world. That said, youtube-dl didn't help themselves by giving specific infringement instructions against RIAA owned media.
@keverets
I agree that DRM is evil and that breaking it shouldn't be a crime. But how loose is their definition of a digital lock? As far as I can tell, Youtube has no locks, unless they count not explicitly including a "download" button as a lock.