Overview
- Three YouTube channels led by h3h3Productions filed a class‑action complaint in April 2026 saying Apple scraped millions of their videos to train internal AI models and violated the DMCA.
- Apple filed a motion to dismiss on July 1, 2026, arguing the videos were publicly posted on YouTube and that accessing them is permitted by the DMCA and YouTube’s terms of service.
- Apple does not deny it accessed the videos and contends YouTube’s anti‑scraping measures do not “control access” as required by DMCA section 1201(a), so the plaintiffs’ anti‑circumvention claims fail.
- Judge Richard Seeborg has set an August 6, 2026 hearing to decide whether the case survives the motion to dismiss and can proceed to discovery or should be thrown out.
- The lawsuit is part of broader litigation by creators against major AI firms including Meta, NVIDIA, ByteDance, and Snap and a ruling could change how companies can collect and use publicly posted online material and affect creator compensation.