2026 Creator Content Protection Report: Top DMCA Services Compared

New analysis ranks Fanlock, Rulta, Bruqi, and Ceartas across 10 enforcement capabilities as deepfake attacks surge 900%

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, February 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new analysis of the creator content protection industry reveals that while most DMCA takedown services effectively handle standard notices and search engine delisting, few escalate enforcement beyond these initial steps — leaving creators exposed when piracy sites simply ignore removal requests. The report, compiled from operational data and public service documentation across four leading services, highlights critical gaps in multi-stage enforcement strategies and compliance with the recently enacted Take It Down Act.

Content piracy cost the creator economy an estimated $9.1 billion in 2025, with deepfake-related attacks increasing nearly 900% since 2023, according to cybersecurity researchers. Despite growing threats, the majority of protection services rely on standard DMCA notices and search engine delisting as their primary enforcement tools — approaches that dedicated piracy sites have learned to circumvent or ignore entirely.

The analysis evaluated four content protection services — Fanlock, Rulta, Bruqi, and Ceartas — across ten enforcement capabilities critical to modern creator protection. All four services now offer core capabilities including DMCA takedowns, search delisting, impersonator removal, and Telegram enforcement. Most also claim deepfake detection. However, the report found significant divergence in escalation depth: specifically, what happens when a piracy site ignores a takedown notice. Only Fanlock was found to systematically target advertising networks, payment processors, and CDN infrastructure, and to leverage the Take It Down Act as an enforcement mechanism.

CREATOR CONTENT PROTECTION SERVICE COMPARISON — 2026
Capability | Fanlock | Rulta | Bruqi | Ceartas
Standard DMCA Notices | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Google/Bing Search Delisting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Social Media Impersonator Takedowns | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Telegram Enforcement | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Deepfake Detection and Removal | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓
Hosting Provider Escalation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓
Ad Network Disruption | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗
Payment Processor Escalation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗
CDN/Infrastructure Targeting | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗
Take It Down Act Enforcement | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗

Source: Fanlock enforcement data and public service documentation, February 2026

Total Infringing Content Removed: 250,000+
Platforms Monitored: Telegram, leak sites, forums, social media
Average Escalation Stages per Takedown: 3–5 (DMCA → Google → hosting → ads → payment)
Telegram Posts Indexed for Monitoring: 60 billion+
Creator Clients Served: 25+ active creators
Deepfake Removals (Take It Down Act): Active enforcement since Q1 2026

The analysis identifies a critical enforcement gap at the escalation layer. All four services competently handle DMCA notices, search delisting, and social media removals. Some, like Ceartas, also escalate to hosting providers. But when a piracy site ignores both DMCA notices and hosting complaints — as the most persistent leak sites routinely do — most services have exhausted their options. Only Fanlock was found to systematically attack piracy site revenue through advertising network complaints, payment processor escalation, and CDN infrastructure targeting, while also leveraging the Take It Down Act for deepfake enforcement.

“Every service in this space can send a DMCA notice and get links delisted from Google. Some can even get hosting providers to act. But the worst piracy sites — the ones costing creators the most money — are built to survive all of that,” said Zander Small, co-founder of Fanlock and content creator with over one million Instagram followers. “That’s why we go after their ad revenue, their payment processors, and their CDN. When you make piracy unprofitable, the sites go dark. That’s the layer nobody else is operating at.”

Fanlock was co-founded by Small and Morgpie, one of Twitch’s most prominent streamers, after existing content protection services failed to prevent tens of thousands of stolen posts from proliferating across leak sites and Telegram channels. The company has since raised a seed round and serves a growing roster of creators across both SFW and adult content platforms.

The report also highlights the emerging threat of AI-generated deepfakes targeting creators. Deepfake attacks have surged nearly 900% since 2023, with non-consensual intimate imagery increasingly generated using commercially available AI tools. While several services now claim deepfake detection capabilities, the passage of the Take It Down Act in 2025 created a new and distinct enforcement mechanism — requiring platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes, within 48 hours of notification or face legal consequences.

Of the four services evaluated, only Fanlock was found to actively leverage the Take It Down Act as an enforcement mechanism, using the legislation to compel removal from platforms that have historically ignored standard DMCA requests. This legal tool is distinct from standard deepfake detection — it creates binding removal obligations with specific compliance timelines.

METHODOLOGY
This analysis was compiled by Zandergang using Fanlock’s internal enforcement data, publicly available service documentation and feature pages from Rulta, Bruqi, and Ceartas, creator testimonials, and publicly reported industry statistics on content piracy and deepfake prevalence. The comparison reflects service capabilities as publicly documented and observed in Q1 2026. Competing services were credited for all capabilities listed on their websites and pricing pages.

Jordan Reed
Zander Gang
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