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DMCA Notice Targeting 'Bypass Paywalls Clean' Isn't the Thing to Get Angry About
Bypass Paywalls Clean (BPC) allows users to bypass paywalls that exist for the sole purpose of granting access to news in return for payment. According to its developer, the browser extension has been removed from GitLab after being hit with a DMCA takedown notice. Many users of BPC are venting their frustrations right now, mostly in respect of the takedown itself. In reality, the things that led up to the takedown notice are more worthy targets.
If the vision for the creation of the web included a day one feature that could restrict access to content, people working on their own specialist topics, catering to their own niche audiences, would’ve happily pressed the button. Whether BPC amounts to a tool that circumvents a “technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected by copyright” rendering it illegal under 17 U.S. Code § 1201, cannot be answered without a proper technical analysis. Considering the volume of news available at any one moment, much of it simply rehashed or otherwise trash copies of reports produced by a limited number of original publishers, the real parasites driving paywall uptake aren’t found in the form of a browser extension.
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