Like most laws and rights, you really only have what you can afford to defend or fight for.
You see now in Canada that your "Charter Rights" really are simply a piece of paper, and can be revoked at will. Likewise in the US, people's constitutional rights are trampled on or suspended all the time.
All you have is what is convenient for you to have, and that can be revoked at any time.
The exact same thing happens with copyright law and other IP. You can have the best invention in the world, and a patent to say it's yours, but if you can't afford to sue a massive company then they can just take it from you.
The principles of what is and isn't allowed under copyright is pretty clear, but unless you have deep pockets or can attract some other group to help defend yourself and get sufficient publicity about it, the big company can override all the rules.
I think the mistake many make is believing that the platforms they use will provide them protection when in reality, these platforms are on the side of the big money. If you use them as your outlet, then they become the "point of failure" for the copyright claims, and because they have no horse in the race, they have no reason to risk anything defending some minor user of their system.
That's simply the state we're in. The internet has been taken over by big companies with deep pockets and the little guy can use it until they step out of line.
The only counter to this will be censorship-resistant platforms, likely block-chain based, but even those will be at the mercy of other centralized internet mechanisms such as domain name systems until those too are replaced. Unless and until the majority of people embrace these things, then they can only provide a niche audience compared to the mainstream platforms.
But does all this matter? Critique and parody are important but as the article points out they are a different audience to that of the WTS media. I imagine that a significant (majority) of the viewership is often those who have already left, who are looking for easy-to-digest validation. Also worth noting is that if you are making money off such videos, it's taken into account and counts against being classed as "fair use".
I don't think the majority of people really joined because of the beliefs or even really believe them as such (many JWs don't know what the current beliefs even are). It's a lifestyle, and people are caught up in it. People leave when they are ready, when the WTS experience convinces them that things aren't right, that there isn't any "truth" behind it. They need to know there are friendly voices on the outside, and that it's possible to leave and be successful and happy. No one can remove that message for violating anything.
