Censorship by copyright

Copyright can be used to enact censorship. Critics of copyright argue that copyright has been abused to suppress free speech, as well as criticism, business competition, academic research, investigative reporting (and freedom of press) and artistic expression.

The most common form of censorship by copyright concerns the abuse of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) either by copyright holders or by the service providers. The DMCA forces web hosts to be overly sensitive to claims of copyright infringement and act as de facto gatekeepers, infringing upon fair use as well as facilitating abuse in the form of bogus copyright claims.