A major controversy has broken out in India’s digital content community, with multiple YouTubers accusing the prominent news agency Asian News International (ANI) of issuing copyright strikes and demanding exorbitant payments for using short portions of its footage. The issue came into public view after Rajat Pawar, a YouTuber from a modest background with over 3 million subscribers, alleged that ANI demanded Rs 18 lakh plus GST for a 9-second video clip used in one of his videos. “They told me to pay up or lose my entire channel,” Pawar said in his video exposé.
In the wake of the allegations, several other creators came forward with similar experiences. Many said they were pressured to pay lakhs of rupees under the threat of having their channels taken down. The tactic, they claimed, amounted to blackmail. “Even I got a strike and was asked to pay Rs 15 lakh in the name of a subscription — for using a 2-second clip!” said popular YouTuber Thugesh.
ANI has not issued a statement on the latest round of allegations, but in a previous case, the agency defended its actions, stating that it was within its legal rights under Indian copyright law. It maintained that copyright enforcement is not “extortion” but a legitimate exercise of its rights. Critics, however, say such practices amount to coercion, especially when applied to fair use scenarios.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale condemned the practice, saying it represents “a form of quasi-privately imposed censorship aided by a government which favors one news agency over another.” He accused the Modi government of granting ANI special access to official events and government bytes, thereby creating an “unofficial monopoly” over political reporting. “This is extremely concerning and has serious repercussions on the freedom of speech of independent YouTube content creators,” Gokhale said. He has written to YouTube India demanding an explanation and has called for parliamentary scrutiny of the issue.
Kunal Kamra, a stand-up comedian and political commentator, expressed outrage over the strikes. “YouTube India must be held accountable and should ban ANI from its platform on grounds of blackmailing creators. Creators make the platform — not thieves like ANI,” Kamra tweeted.
Another creator, Ishpreet Dang, echoed that sentiment: “This ANI should be banned from YouTube. Sad that creators are facing this blackmailing shit,” he wrote. Popular content creator UBIRUNGIA, who has over 1.4 million subscribers, said: “It’s not just ANI. Other big channels do this too — they strike small creators and no one listens to us. There should be action on all of them.”
Nitish Rajput, who has a substantial following on YouTube, warned that such tactics discourage independent voices. “YouTube should take steps to make sure creators don’t end up feeling helpless after putting in years of hard work,” he said. Sunday Sarthak added, “This has been happening to so many people. Thank you for putting this out, bhai. Everyone is with you.”
The use of brief news footage is often protected under the concept of “fair dealing” in Indian copyright law, particularly for purposes like critique, commentary, or reporting. However, creators say the current enforcement mechanism fails to take this into account, enabling large media entities to exploit the takedown system against independent voices.
With no official response yet from ANI or YouTube India, the controversy is drawing widespread attention and calls for reform. As outrage grows online, digital rights activists are urging the government and platforms to prevent what they see as the weaponization of copyright to silence independent journalism and commentary on YouTube