Raghav Chadha pushes for urgent copyright reforms to protect India’s digital creators

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday urged the Centre to amend the Copyright Act, 1957, saying the law has not kept pace with the realities of a digital-first media economy and is leaving online creators vulnerable to coercion and takedowns.

Speaking in Parliament, Chadha said educators, reviewers, satirists, entertainers, musicians and influencers are increasingly facing copyright strikes and content removals that can wipe out months of work and disrupt livelihoods.

He argued that the absence of clear guardrails around “fair use” in the online context is creating uncertainty and chilling speech, even when creators use short clips or references for criticism, review, or commentary.

Chadha outlined three key changes he wants the government to consider.

First, he called for a clearer definition of “fair use” for digital platforms, with explicit protection for transformative uses. He said short news clips, incidental references, and content used for analysis or commentary should not be treated as piracy by default.

Second, he proposed a “doctrine of proportionality” to curb disproportionate enforcement actions. He said copyright strikes should not become a blunt weapon that can shut down a channel overnight for minor or limited use, without considering context and impact.

Third, he urged mandatory pre-litigation mediation to settle disputes before they escalate into expensive, time-consuming legal battles. Chadha said creators and rights holders should have a structured avenue to resolve conflicts quickly and fairly, without immediately pushing individuals into court.

“Fair use isn’t piracy,” Chadha said, pressing for reforms that protect creativity while respecting copyright.

His intervention comes amid a wider debate over alleged misuse of copyright tools on major platforms. Independent creators have complained that copyright claims are sometimes deployed as pressure tactics, with the threat of strikes and channel termination used to push them into settlements.

One flashpoint has been a set of disputes involving Asian News International (ANI), India’s largest news agency. In May 2025, YouTuber Mohak Mangal, who runs the channel “Soch by Mohak Mangal,” said he received copyright strikes over the use of brief snippets, around 9–11 seconds, in analytical videos. The episode sparked online backlash, with creators alleging that the platform’s strike system can be exploited as leverage. ANI has maintained that its content is protected and has contested the allegations around its enforcement approach.

Chadha also pointed to the larger legal backdrop shaping India’s digital copyright landscape. Courts have, over the years, dealt with questions around intermediary liability, platform responsibility, licensing, and disclosure in piracy cases. Matters such as Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. MySpace Inc. (2009), Tips Industries Ltd. v. Wynk Music Ltd. (2019), and Neetu Singh v. Telegram (2020) have been cited in policy discussions as digital distribution and user-generated content have expanded.

Digital rights advocates say the demand for sharper definitions and process safeguards has grown as the creator economy scales. 

Industry estimates have pegged India’s creator economy at over $3.5 billion, with creators increasingly becoming key players in entertainment, information and commerce.

Supporters of reform argue that without stronger protections, smaller creators can be outmatched by well-resourced rights holders in disputes that turn on takedown mechanisms rather than courtroom scrutiny.