oEmbed is an open format that lets a website display content hosted elsewhere, such as a YouTube video or a social post, by fetching embed code from the original platform.
When a page uses oEmbed, the site asks the content provider's oEmbed endpoint for the HTML needed to show the item and places it in the page. Most major video and social platforms support it, and publishing tools such as WordPress use it to turn a pasted URL into a playable video or post.
The embedded item is not copied: it stays on the original platform's servers and is only displayed through the other site. Whether embedding is itself copyright infringement is unsettled — US courts have reached different conclusions, and in the EU the answer depends on the circumstances.
In practice
If a video about you is embedded on several blogs or news sites, removing the original upload usually makes every embed stop working at once, because there is nothing left to display. Sending notices to each embedding site often achieves less than one well-founded request to the platform hosting the original. After removal, check that the pages showing the embed, and their search snippets, have updated.
Related removals
- YouTube video — $3,700 per video, pay on success
- TikTok video — $3,700 per video, pay on success
Related terms
- Source removal — Source removal means deleting content where it is actually published — on the website, platform or server that hosts it — rather than only hiding it from search results.
- DMCA takedown — A DMCA takedown is a notice under US copyright law asking a host, platform or search engine to remove material that infringes a copyright you own or are authorised to enforce.
- Takedown notice — A takedown notice is a formal written request asking a platform, host or search engine to remove specific content because it breaks the law or the provider's own rules.
- Content removal — Content removal is the process of getting harmful or unlawful material taken off the website or platform that hosts it, or out of search results, through policy reports and legal requests.