According to the Wall Street Journal , when users search for a movie on TikTok, they initially see only fan-edited videos and no clips of the movie. TikTok's algorithm then suggests 90-second excerpts on the For You tab. The more they watch, the more the platform suggests.
Lawyers and legal scholars say these accounts violate copyright and intellectual property rights of film and television studios, which is why the movie title is often not included in the post.
The accounts listed above attract hundreds of thousands of followers, comments, likes, and views, but do not appear to make money from their clips, as there are no sponsored posts or other paid advertising. Videos can be up to 10 minutes long, but most are 2 to 3 minutes.
More and more American adults are turning to TikTok for entertainment. According to research firm Insider Intelligence, TikTok’s total daily minutes spent on the platform have surpassed Instagram’s. TikTok’s powerful algorithm suggests what users should eat, drink, buy, and watch. With its wide distribution capabilities, TikTok is hard to ignore. However, studios often don’t share entire movies or shows on the platform.
By filling that void, anonymous accounts have found a large audience. Jaycee Hughes, a 30-year-old audio engineer in Chicago, is one of them. He subscribes to several streaming services, including Netflix and Hulu, but he prefers watching on TikTok because its algorithm shows him a wide variety of entertainment, without having to search for it on other apps.
“I don't turn on the TV as often as before because everything is in the palm of my hand,” he added.
Copyrighted content on social media is difficult to police, lawyers say. These posts also benefit studios because they bring new audiences to their content. Peacock is among the streaming providers experimenting with building channels on TikTok, uploading full episodes of “Killing It” and “Love Island USA.”
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) address piracy on a commercial, global scale, but not on a film-by-film basis, according to Jan van Voorn, director of global content protection at the MPA. “I am certain that piracy will never go away,” said van Voorn, who is also director of ACE. “There will always be action to keep it manageable.”
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998, protects internet companies from being punished if their users post copyrighted content on their platforms, so filmmakers, producers, and individual authors must monitor the platforms themselves and file complaints if they find their work on them.
“As long as the platform acts quickly to remove infringing content once it is reported, the platform is protected,” said Aaron Moss, a copyright attorney in Los Angeles.
TikTok says it prohibits content that infringes on intellectual property rights and provides a way for copyright owners to report violations.
Some entertainment companies may not complain about online clips because TikTok helps increase the popularity of content and attract attention, according to Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown Law University.
However, the uploaders themselves use tricks to split clips and mix them with other content to avoid detection. They also do not usually post the entire film, so viewers only watch half of it. In addition, they also "buy" followers to make their accounts appear popular, manipulating TikTok's suggestion algorithm.
Michaela Bennett, a 26-year-old court clerk in London, says she watches everything that pops up on TikTok, including American TV shows and movies that are hard to find in the UK. She also enjoys reading the comments on clips, often urging creators to post more videos and discussing the content. “It’s nice to know that people feel the same way as you or have different opinions,” she says.
Alex Friedman, a 31-year-old investor and startup advisor in Texas (USA), is a subscriber to Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, Discovery+... However, she still uses TikTok because it is easier to watch and does not require searching.
(According to WSJ)
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