Is it legal to download YouTube Videos? The Truth About YouTube

Many people utilize third-party programs to download YouTube videos, but is it legal?

Sometimes, the law is simple (for instance, downloading TV music or shows isn’t legal), but what about other kinds of content? Are you always allowed to download YouTube videos, or is there a time when you are allowed to download them?

Let’s look more closely at the legality and propriety of downloading YouTube videos. If you want to increase your YouTube channel traffic, you can buy YouTube likes with YTpals.com.

What is YouTube says about downloading videos?

It is crucial to distinguish between the two aspects of the issue. On one side, there is the issue of the way YouTube views this situation. However, the nation’s laws regarding where the downloading occurs are the issue.

Let’s begin with YouTube. If you view videos on YouTube, you agree to adhere to the company’s conditions.

There’s no room to interpret; YouTube explicitly forbids you from downloading videos unless and until you have the permission of YouTube itself.

Can YouTube Stop You from downloading videos?

If you violate these Terms of Service, YouTube has various legal remedies. In theory, anything from a ban to a civil lawsuit might be in the cards.

However, YouTube has never sued anyone for downloading content. In the past, it was thought of using one of the biggest YouTube videos downloaders (YouTube-MP3.org) in violation of its Terms of Service but backed down when the website was unable to change its mind.

It is interesting to note that YouTube-MP3.org was shut down in 2017 after Sony Music and Warner Bros filed a copyright infringement suit against it.

Do you think downloading YouTube videos is Against the Law?

We’ve discovered that YouTube does not like downloaders of videos. However, it could be content to be agnostic to them at present. But what are the laws? Do you have a criminal conviction for downloading the video from YouTube?

It usually is dependent on. Let’s examine how the US legal system views downloads of YouTube videos.

When is downloading YouTube Video Content Illegal?

Within the United States, copyright law stipulates that it is not legal to copy content when you don’t get the consent of the owner of the copyright.

This applies to copies that are for personal use and copies you give away or gain financially from.

So downloading TV shows and movies, sports clips, or the rest of copyrighted content available on YouTube violates the law. This puts you in danger of being charged with a crime. The same situation exists across the UK as well as the European Union.

In real life, the possibility of being the subject of a criminal suit, particularly for an individual, is extremely low, yet you violate the law in any case.

When is downloading YouTube Videos Illegal?

We’ve determined that downloading the video violates YouTube’s conditions. Additionally, if we download copyrighted content, it violates the law. However, are there times when it’s permissible downloading YouTube videos?

Yes! You can utilize the third-party YouTube downloading software to download YouTube videos in which copyright laws don’t apply or videos in which the copyright grants an owner the ability to duplicate the footage.

There are several kinds of videos that you can legally download from YouTube:

Public domain: Public domain works happen in cases where the copyright has expired, was forfeited, canceled, removed, or was not applicable from the beginning. Nobody owns the video, which means that people can reproduce or distribute content without restriction.
Creative Commons: Creative Commons applies to works that the creator is still copyright-holding; however, he has been granted an open license to copy and distribute his work.
Copyleft gives anyone the right to reproduce, distribute, and alter the work so long that the same rights are applied to the derived content. Check out our article on copyright and copyleft if you’d like to know more about it.

If you do a little exploring through YouTube, numerous videos fall into any of the above categories. Keep in mind that downloading the videos may violate YouTube’s Terms of Services, but it will not be offensive.

The Moral Argument for downloading videos

Naturally, there’s a moral issue surrounding the downloading process for YouTube videos.

Like how websites like MUO depend on advertisements to provide readers with free content, Many YouTube stars rely on the YouTube channel’s revenue.

When you download videos and upload them to your friends offline, you block the creator clicks and, consequently, decrease the amount of money they earn. In the worst case, the creator may be able to sue for the losses in profits.

Are the authorities losing the Battle?

A quick search on the results of any Google search will display an array of websites and tools, and applications that allow you to download YouTube videos.

This is probably why we haven’t received any news from YouTube regarding any legal action against the tools’ operators. YouTube has decided that the challenge of constructing legal watertight, and legally sound cases against the websites is more hassle than it’s worth.

A few reports suggest that many sites like YouTube downloader websites are permitted to run Google Ads. Maybe Alphabet is more focused on making money from the vast audience somewhat instead of penalizing the sites for their content.

Like pirates in the 2000s, the whole situation is evolving into a kind of whack-a-mole between the various apps/sites/tools, record labels, and television networks. If one website is shut down, a dozen other options appear to replace it.