YouTube Will Obey Any Cease and Desist Regardless of Origin

A 15-year-old boy has apologized to the Australian Broadcasting Company after pretending to represent them in demanding the removal of hundreds of video clips from YouTube.

After sending a signed form telling the site to rid itself of footage, YouTube apparently not only did so without any attempt to verify the order, but threatened the original uploaders with the closure of their accounts if they reupped the material. ABC, it turns out, expressly didn't want the material removed. Here's their head of comedy, Courtney Gibson:

"But what was of concern to us was the fact that YouTube was sending copyright infringement notices to people who have been uploading Chaser clips to YouTube, threatening to shut down their access to YouTube if they persist. That's what was worrying to us."

It turns out that ABC encourages sharing the show in question, The Chaser's War on Everything, as it's the the kind of satirical comedy series that intelligent broadcasters like to have doing the viral rounds.

Teen apologises over ABC YouTube sham [MSN]