What is DMCA and why is it in the news?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a copyright law in the US that came into effect on October 28, 1998. It serves two key functions. It protects copyrighted works on digital platforms. The act safeguards internet service firms like Twitter, Facebook or WordPress from liabilities in case of infringement if due process is followed and if they satisfy conditions prescribed under the law. This was what made headlines in India recently. Twitter took down a tweet of IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on June 25, when it received a complaint about a violation of DMCA on behalf of Sony Music Entertainment. The 2017 tweet used the soundtrack of AR Rahman's Maa Tujhe Salaam infringing copyrights.