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Aug 2021
18m 23s

The cops weaponising copyright

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Could your favourite song be used to cover up the misdeeds of the police?

Officers across the US have been filmed playing music - out loud - on their phones in public. They weren’t hoping this unusual display would make them go viral on social media. In fact, the aim was quite the opposite.

Some officers believe that by blasting music while being filmed, the videos would get blocked by automatic copyright protection software and activists wouldn’t be able to post them online.

Should we be concerned by these attempts to evade scrutiny by gaming technology, and do they even work?

Presenter: Sam Judah

Editor: Ed Main

Image: A graphic of a police officer with a mobile phone in his breast pocket blaring out music.

Image copyright: BBC

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