Delhi High Court Directs Meta to Disclose Rights Manager Policy
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, directed Meta to submit its policy, eligibility criteria, and rules governing access to its Rights Manager tool after allegations surfaced that scammers are exploiting the copyright enforcement system against original creators.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani instructed Meta to place on record the specific norms it uses to grant access to the copyright-protection mechanism, alongside the explicit grounds on which user applications for the tool may be rejected.
The court’s directions were issued during the hearing of a suit filed by content creator and business coach Mohit Kumar, who operates the social media handle Rise With Mohit.
Represented by advocates Himanshu Goyal and Muskaan Garg, Kumar alleged that fraudulent actors copied his original videos and uploaded them to Meta’s Rights Manager tool. The scammers then falsely presented themselves as the rightful rights holders and relied on those registrations to issue copyright strikes against Kumar's accounts.
Kumar's legal counsel informed the court that he had submitted applications for access to the Rights Manager tool on three separate occasions, but Meta rejected each application without providing specific reasons. The counsel highlighted that while creators with smaller audiences were granted access, established content creators with substantial viewership, engagement, and brand collaborations were being denied entry to the system.
The counsel further emphasized that the consequences of these alleged fraudulent content removals extended beyond just restoring the videos. The actions directly affected Kumar's audience engagement, commercial collaborations, and his business of selling courses.
In its submission, Meta's counsel told the court that the disputed copyright strikes were reversed after technical verification, and the affected content was fully restored. Meta also stated that Kumar's social media accounts were not suspended and remained accessible throughout.
Justice Bhambhani observed that concerns regarding the misuse of copyright enforcement mechanisms are recurring across multiple cases involving digital content creators. Noting that the issue is driving an increasing volume of disputes and court litigation, the court listed the matter for further hearing on September 24, when similar cases are scheduled to be heard.
