According to new reports, Samsung have filed copyright claims against YouTube videos mocking its recalled Galaxy Note 7 handset.
Many gamers have showcased a modification to video game Grand Theft Auto V, in which sticky bombs were switched with exploding Galaxy Note 7 phones.
Some of them have reported that their videos have been blocked on YouTube following a copyright complaint.
Critics have warned that trying to remove gamers’ videos will only draw more attention to them.
The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled and discontinued in October after reports that some handsets were catching fire.
US gamer DoctorGTA said restrictions had been put on his YouTube account as a result of Samsung’s complaint.
“It’s going to take three months to get the strike removed from my channel… I got my live stream taken away,” he said in a video.
“If I submit a counter-notification to say <<sue me>>, I wonder what they will do. Will they sue me, the kid that has cancer and just makes money off YouTube playing a video game?”
“It really sucks, because I really worked hard on this channel.”
Some viewers warned that Samsung was at risk of invoking the Streisand Effect – a term used to denotes increased publicity as a result of attempts to remove embarrassing online content.
It was first used in 2005 by Mike Masnick, founder of the website Techdirt, following a failed attempt by Barbra Streisand to sue a photographer who posted a picture of her seaside home.
The original download page for the Grand Theft Auto V modification, created by player HitmanNiko, has not been taken offline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrXpWY6UuuQ
