A PIL has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking action against an alleged organised cyber-extortion racket that exploits Instagram's copyright enforcement mechanism by issuing fraudulent copyright strikes against content creators and demanding money for restoration of their accounts.

The plea has been filed by digital content creator Nitin Joshi through Advocates Raghav Sethi, Gurmukh Singh Arora and Tejbir Singh.

It seeks formulation of a fair and transparent copyright enforcement mechanism for social media intermediaries, along with safeguards to prevent misuse of automated copyright takedown systems.

The matter was listed today before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.

Advocate Tejbir Singh appeared for the petitioner and argued that the matter pertains to a “newly emerging cyber crime” wherein copyright enforcement mechanism of Meta Platforms is being used for extortion.

However, Justice Tejas Karia recused from the matter. The case will now be listed before another bench on July 28.

According to the PIL, organised criminal syndicates are allegedly filing fabricated copyright complaints to trigger Instagram's automated enforcement system, leading to suspension or disabling of legitimate accounts without prior notice, independent verification or meaningful human review.

Thereafter, the perpetrators allegedly demand ransom running into lakhs of rupees to withdraw the complaints or facilitate restoration of the accounts.

Joshi states that after publishing a video titled “Instagram's Biggest Copyright Scam” highlighting the alleged racket, he received communications from numerous creators across the country sharing evidence of fraudulent copyright complaints, account suspensions and extortion demands.

The petition states that shortly thereafter, his own video was blocked worldwide pursuant to a copyright complaint, allegedly demonstrating the way the mechanism could be misused.

Joshi has sought directions to investigating agencies to register and investigate the alleged organised cyber-extortion network, trace domestic and cross-border perpetrators, and investigate the financial trail of extortion proceeds.

It also seeks directions to the Union Government to frame a regulatory framework mandating verification of copyright ownership, human review before disabling accounts, time-bound appeals and restoration of wrongfully disabled accounts.

Title: NITIN JOSHI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS