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Social media posts on X have gone viral after numerous people reported that they received DMCA takedown requests from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for their videos from the July 26 Olympics opening ceremony, including of a scene referred to as a “Last Supper” rendition. A look back at previous Olympic events reveals that these takedown notices happen regularly and aren’t unique to this year’s opening ceremony in Paris.
Numerous Accounts Shared That They Received Takedown Notices
A number of people on social media shared on July 27 that their videos were removed from X due to requests from the IOC or copyright complaints. But some videos still remain.
An account called “MJTruthUltra” posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that they “woke up” to see that their account and others had been locked after they shared videos from the Olympics. They included screenshots of the notice to authenticate their claims.
The account wrote: “Someone named Jonathan Schmitz, a representative of ATHLETIA, on behalf of The International Olympic Committee Mass reported DMCA takedown notices and has effectively suspending accounts. There is no way to get back on our X account unless you admit you violated X’s terms and remove the content.”
The account went on to say that they had posted a clip of the “Last Supper” portion of the opening ceremony along with criticism.
The screenshots revealed an email that read, in part: “Through our monitoring programme we have become aware that you are displaying and/or offering IOC copyright protected autio-visual content… As you have neither sought nor obtained permission from IOC to use this content, your present use is an infringement of IOC’s rights.”
Another account, @MarioNawfal, posted a similar complaint on X. They wrote, in part: “The Olympics and NBC are taking down videos of the controversial Olympics opening ceremony, citing copyright infringement, instead of addressing the criticism. This action has sparked outrage, as many believe these takedowns are a misuse of copyright laws to suppress negative commentary.”
They included screenshots that read: “The following material has been removed from your account in response to the DMCA takedown notice copied at the bottom of this email…”
A third account, @DrEliDavid, claimed that an account with 2.5 million followers was also locked after sharing opening ceremony footage. And a fourth account, from @stillgray, also noted that they had multiple videos disabled by the copyright owner.
The X account KSC_LTd shared a similar story, writing: “How pathetic, Recieved a DMCA takedown notice and had my account locked over a 50 second clip of a woman in the Paris suit walking down a catwalk 😂😂.” They also shared a screenshot of the takedown notice.
However, not everyone was hit by a DMCA takedown notice. The X account @Harry_Faulkner, for example, has a 22-second clip from the opening ceremony that is still online as of the time this article was published.
IOC Takedown Notices Aren’t Unique to This Year’s Olympics
The posts went viral after many people shared that they thought they were targeted from criticizing the opening ceremony. However, this isn’t the first year that the IOC has issued takedown notices to some people who posted clips from the Olympics on social media.
On July 25, 2021, one person shared a screenshot showing that a Twitter account had been suspended for sharing an Olympics video. They wrote: “Y’all. The IOC isn’t playing with DMCA and WIPO. Be careful in these streets.”
They later explained that the video taken down was “a video of Chuso waving to the ‘crowd’ after her final routine/vault at the Olympics.”
Back in August 2016, Ryan T. Brown shared on Twitter that they had received a DMCA takedown notice for a video of the Prime Minister of Japan. They wrote: “Imagine filing a DMCA takedown notice over a tweet. Definitely in the spirit of the #Olympics, that.”
In February 2022, WCNC reported that NBC and the Olympics can block anyone who shares Olympics videos on social media. Comedian Leslie Jones’ posts about the 2016 Olympics got her invited out to be an official contributor for two Olympics events. But when she wasn’t an official contributor in 2022, her Olympics posts on Instagram were taken down, WCNC revealed.
She wrote in 2022: “They block my videos… I’m tired of fighting them.”
WCNC reported that the IOC closely regulates Olympics coverage, although NBC can make exceptions if it wants (which it later did for Jones.)
WCNC wrote: “NBC and the IOC often file takedown notices against companies and individuals who violate the rules. When these takedown notices are directed at social media posts containing Olympic videos, GIFs or audio, they are often directed at the social media companies themselves, which in turn remove the post…”
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