Re: DMCA Circumvention Violations by Mgp25 and Related Forks

To Whom it May Concern:

I represent Facebook, Inc. and Instagram, LLC (collectively, the “Company”). I am writing to report a violation of GitHub’s copyright/DMCA policies. I have read and understand GitHub’s Guide to Filing a DMCA Notice.

Nature of Authorization to Submit Notice

The Company maintains technological measures to control access to and protect Instagram users’ posts, which are copyrighted works. This notice relates to GitHub users offering, providing, and/or trafficking in technologies, products, and/or services primarily designed to circumvent the Company’s technological measures. The Company has authority to act on its own behalf in this manner.

Technological Measures

The Company controls access to and protects Instagram’s users’ copyrighted works through a variety of technological measures. These include measures to prevent automated collection and downloading of users’ posts, which include copyrighted works; the requirement for a valid access token, and/or an authorized Instagram account (with an authorized username and password) in order to use Instagram mobile applications to gain access to users’ posts; rate-limiting and bot-detection software to prevent automated use of the Instagram application and access to users’ posts; limitations on which entities may use particular versions of Instagram’s APIs; and technological measures that prevent automated “liking” and commenting on users’ posts. Further, the Company does not offer the Instagram private API to the public or unauthorized third-party developers.

Description of Alleged DMCA Violation

GitHub user mgp25 maintains the repository “Instagram-API” (https://github.com/mgp25/Instagram-API). Mgp25’s Instagram-API repository (and its forks) offers a tool expressly designed to circumvent the Company’s effective access controls and protection measures by avoiding, bypassing, removing, deactivating, or impairing the Company’s technological measures without the authority of the copyright owners or the Company. Mgp25’s Instagram-API is designed to emulate the official Instagram mobile app when communicating with Instagram’s servers, which allows users of mgp25’s Instagram-API to send and receive data (including receiving legitimate, copyrighted posts by Instagram’s users) through Instagram’s private API. Mgp25’s Instagram-API also permits other types of access to, and collection of, Instagram’s users’ copyrighted works in manners that exceed the scope of access and functionality that would be permitted by a user with a legitimate, authorized Instagram account.

The Company believes that mgp25’s email is [private].

Files to be Taken Down

he repository (https://github.com/mgp25/Instagram-API) and forks thereof, as detailed below and in the List of Forks In Violation of the DMCA Circumvention Law at the end of this letter.

Forks In Violation of the DMCA Circumvention Law

The Company has determined that 1,519 of the forks of the mgp25 Instagram-API repository have not made significant changes to the repository’s core functionality. A List of Forks In Violation of the DMCA Circumvention Law is provided at the end of this letter. Because the core functionality of the Instagram-API tool is to circumvent Instagram’s technological measures used to protect and control access to, and use of, copyrighted works, each of these 1,519 forks are trafficking in technologies designed to circumvent technological measures.

Requested Action

The Company requests that mgp25’s Instagram-API repository and all forks identified in the List of Forks In Violation of the DMCA Circumvention Law, below, be removed from the platform entirely. This is the only remedy that would cure the unauthorized offering, providing, and/or trafficking in technologies, products, and/or services primarily designed to circumvent technological measures that effectively control access to, and protect, copyrighted works on Instagram.

I have a good faith belief that mgp25 is offering, providing, and/or trafficking in technologies, products, and/or services primarily designed to circumvent technological measures that effectively control access to, and protect, copyrighted works on Instagram, and that this activity is not authorized by the Company or Instagram.

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am authorized to act on behalf of the Company, which maintains and controls the technological measures that effectively control access to, and protect, the copyrighted works on Instagram.

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