Ever Heard of the Streisand Effect?

Well, the alleged cyber security firm CrowdStrike apparently has not heard of the Streisand Effect, which is why they have attempted a DMCA take-down of the ClownStrike parody site. 

For those who do not know what the Streisand Effect is, it is when a public figure takes actions to suppress information or mockery of them, and as a results increases interest and exposure of that information and mockery.

The singer Barbara Streisand attempted to remove photos of her house from a web site in 2003, and as a result, those photographs became well known and widely distributed.

So the clowns at CrowdStrike are attempting to take down ClownStrike, and as a result the latter is attracting crowds:

Doesn't CrowdStrike have more important things to do right now than try to take down a parody site?

That's what IT consultant David Senk wondered when CrowdStrike sent a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice targeting his parody site ClownStrike.

Senk created ClownStrike in the aftermath of the largest IT outage the world has ever seen—which CrowdStrike blamed on a buggy security update that shut down systems and incited prolonged chaos in airports, hospitals, and businesses worldwide.

………

Setting up the parody site at clownstrike.lol on July 24, Senk's site design is simple. It shows the CrowdStrike logo fading into a cartoon clown, with circus music blasting throughout the transition. For the first 48 hours of its existence, the site used an unaltered version of CrowdStrike's Falcon logo, which is used for its cybersecurity platform, but Senk later added a rainbow propeller hat to the falcon's head.

………

It was all fun and games, but on July 31, Senk received a DMCA notice from Cloudflare's trust and safety team, which was then hosting the parody site. The notice informed Senk that CSC Digital Brand Services' global anti-fraud team, on behalf of CrowdStrike, was requesting the immediate removal of the CrowdStrike logo from the parody site, or else Senk risked Cloudflare taking down the whole site.

Senk immediately felt the takedown was bogus. His site was obviously parody, which he felt should have made his use of the CrowdStrike logos—altered or not—fair use. He immediately responded to Cloudflare to contest the notice, but Cloudflare did not respond to or even acknowledge receipt of his counter notice. Instead, Cloudflare sent a second email warning Senk of the alleged infringement, but once again, Cloudflare failed to respond to his counter notice.

I would note that there are no ads at all on the ClownStrike Site, not that it matters from a legal perspective.  (Hopefully, Senk is one of those hippie pinko types)

I agree with Mr. Senk.  CrowdStrike's lawyers have more pressing matters to attend to than attempting to shut down a 2 page web site on the .lol domain.