Takedowns
How to ask us to remove something from vtubersmash.com: copyright notices, counter-notices, and likeness or impersonation complaints from VTubers and their agencies.
Last updated:
The short version
Summary- A direct contact address for takedown requests will be listed under Contact soon.
- Copyright notices need the details listed under Copyright notices. Complete notices get handled fastest.
- If your post was removed by mistake, you can send a counter-notice.
- We close the accounts of repeat infringers.
- VTubers and agencies can report impersonation or misuse of their likeness. We'll never ask you to reveal who's behind your VTuber.
- Reports about doxxing and safety go to the front of the line.
This box is a quick guide. The full process below is what counts.
Before you start
This page is for legal requests to remove content from vtubersmash.com. For posts that break the Community Guidelines, such as rude or off-topic posts, use the Report button on the post.
In preview mode, what visitors post stays in their own browsers, so the only posts anyone else can see are the team's examples. The steps below still apply to anything on the site itself, including VTuber Smash's own art and characters.
What you send us may be shared with the person whose content you report, as explained in What happens next.
Copyright notices
If you own the copyright in something, or you're allowed to act for the owner, and you believe it's on our site without permission, send a notice to our designated copyright agent. Put "Copyright notice" in the subject line. The agent's contact details will be listed under Contact soon.
Your notice needs all of these:
- Your physical or electronic signature. Typing your full name works as an electronic signature.
- The work you say is being infringed. If there are several, a list of them.
- The exact link to each item you want removed, plus anything else we need to find it.
- Your name, postal address, phone number and email address.
- This statement:
I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- This statement:
The information in this notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Before you send a notice, think about whether the use might be allowed, for example as fair use. If you knowingly claim that something infringes when it doesn't, you can be liable for damages.
If your notice is missing something, we'll ask for it, which slows things down.
Protecting your identity
You don't have to use the legal name behind your VTuber. Your agency, manager or lawyer can send and sign the notice for you.
Other illegal content
To report content you believe is illegal where you live, for example under EU law, write to the takedown contact under Contact with:
- the exact link to the content;
- why you believe it's illegal, including the law if you know it;
- your name and email address (you can leave these out if you're reporting child sexual abuse material);
- a statement that you believe in good faith that your report is accurate and complete.
We'll review it, tell you what we decided, and tell the person who posted it, with our reasons.
Please also report child sexual abuse material to the authorities. In the United States, that's the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
What happens next
We review every notice. Depending on what we find, we may remove the content, hide it, or leave it up and explain why. We tell you what we decided.
We also tell the person who posted it what we removed and why, and we send them a copy of the notice so they can respond. We leave out your phone number and postal address, but the copy can include your name or your organization's name, and what you wrote.
Counter-notices
If we removed your content because of a copyright notice and you believe that was a mistake, or that the content was misidentified, you can send a counter-notice to the takedown contact under Contact. Put "Counter-notice" in the subject line.
Your counter-notice needs all of these:
- Your physical or electronic signature.
- What was removed, and the link where it was before.
- This statement:
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
- Your name, postal address and phone number.
- This statement:
I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located or, if my address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which the VTuber Smash team may be found, and I will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice or that person's agent.
We send your counter-notice, including your name and contact details, to the person who sent the original notice. We put your content back 10 to 14 business days after we receive your counter-notice, unless that person tells us first that they've gone to court to keep it down.
Only send a counter-notice if you're sure. False statements can make you liable. If you're under 18, ask a parent or guardian to help.
Repeat infringers
We keep track of valid copyright notices against each account. When it's appropriate, we close the accounts of people who repeatedly post content that infringes someone else's copyright. We may close an account after a single notice if the infringement is serious.
Likeness and impersonation
Real VTubers join VTuber Smash only with their written permission.
If you're a VTuber, or an agency or manager acting for one, tell us when something on the site:
- pretends to be you or your VTuber, including through a display name;
- uses your VTuber's name, art or model in a way that suggests you're involved with VTuber Smash;
- claims you're joining VTuber Smash when you aren't;
- looks like a copy of your VTuber's design, including one of our own characters.
Write to the takedown contact under Contact with:
- your VTuber name and links to your official channels;
- if you're acting for a VTuber, your organization and your role;
- links to what you're reporting, and what's wrong with it;
- a way for us to check it's really you, such as a short post from your official account, or an email from the business address listed on your channel.
We'll never ask you to share your real name, your face or anything else about the person behind your VTuber.
When we confirm a report, we remove or rename the account or content, and we may ban accounts that impersonate others.
Interested in being in the game? That's a different path: see For VTubers.
Doxxing and safety
If something on the site reveals or guesses the real identity, face or location of anyone, including the person behind a VTuber, report it with the Report button. We hide it first and review it after.
We may share threats of violence with the authorities.
If someone is in danger
Contact your local emergency services first.
How fast we act
- Doxxing, threats and other safety reports: as soon as we see them, ahead of everything else.
- Complete copyright notices and other takedown requests: we aim to act within [two business days].
- Counter-notices: we forward them promptly, and put the content back 10 to 14 business days after we receive them, unless the person who sent the notice tells us they've gone to court.
- Incomplete notices: we reply to ask for what's missing.
We reply to every complete notice to tell you what we did.
Contact
A direct contact address for takedown requests, counter-notices and reports about likeness, impersonation and safety will be listed here soon, with the contact details of our designated copyright agent.
To flag a post that breaks the Community Guidelines, use the Report button on the post.