YouTube Rushes To Shut Down School Shooter’s Account Over Copyright Complaints

SAN BRUNO, CA—Following the Colorado school shooting that left one dead and eight others wounded, YouTube announced Thursday it had moved quickly to shut down the accounts of one of the suspects after receiving complaints over copyright violations. “Shortly after the heartbreaking events in Highlands Ranch, we took the action of removing all the suspect’s videos in response to infringement claims made by copyright holders,” said CEO Susan Wojcicki, who explained that when the names of the accused shooters were released, YouTube had taken the immediate precaution of freezing the suspect’s account to ensure he wasn’t disseminating any messages without distributing the proper royalties. “When we saw he shared a clip owned by NBCUniversal, we scrubbed this and all other copies from the platform within minutes. Spreading this kind of content on YouTube is simply unacceptable without first receiving the proper clearances. We don’t want him inspiring others to violate intellectual property laws in similar ways.” Wojcicki added that the company would consider reinstating his account if he agreed not to share any unlicensed music.