Delhi High Court seeks clarity over Meta’s policy on access to Rights Manager

The Delhi High Court on August 12, 2026, sought clarification from Meta regarding its policy regarding access to the Rights Manager tool, following claims that malicious actors have abused the platform's copyright protection mechanism to target original content. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani instructed Meta to document its requirements and eligibility criteria for granting access to Rights Manager, along with the reasons behind rejecting applications for the tool.

The directions were issued during the hearing of a lawsuit filed by content creator and business coach Mohit Kumar, also known as Rise With Mohit. Mr. Kumar, represented by advocates Himanshu Goyal and Muskaan Garg, claimed that fraudsters first copied and uploaded his original videos to Meta's Rights Manager, falsely claiming to be the rights holders, and then used those registrations to have copyright strikes issued against his accounts.

Meta's legal team informed the court that Kumar had applied for access to Rights Manager three times but was denied without explanation. They noted that smaller creators with fewer followers had been granted access, while established creators with large audiences and commercial partnerships were allegedly being denied it. Kumar's legal team further argued that fraudulent content removals had negatively impacted his audience engagement, commercial partnerships, and ability to sell courses.

Meta's counsel stated that the disputed copyright strikes had been reversed following technical verification, and the removed content had been restored. They also added that Kumar's accounts remained accessible and had not been suspended. Justice Bhambhani acknowledged that concerns about the misuse of copyright enforcement mechanisms were recurring across cases involving content creators and required further investigation. The matter was scheduled to be heard again on September 24, along with similar cases.