SleepyEgg

Twitter can be a decent communications medium for some things, but let's face it: there's only so much one can say in 140 characters. It's hard to believe that a user could infringe on someone's copyright within such tight constraints, but someone apparently thinks it can. Twitter has removed an update posted by the music writer who runs JP's blog, citing a DMCA takedown request from an unnamed sender. The situation once again highlights the potential for abuse through the DMCA's takedown system, and raises questions about how much service providers should push back against abuses.

According to a post on JP's blog, JP received a message from Twitter with a URL to the tweet that was being removed, noting that the reason was because of a DMCA takedown notice. The tweet in question was a link to a blog post on his site posted on April 20. The post described a leaked album by The National, a link to the Amazon page where the album could be preordered, and two links to MP3s from the album, both of which were hosted elsewhere (Box.net and Mediafire).