That’s essentially right but the ability to use takedowns to bully the smaller fish comes from a slightly different source. What the DMCA safe harbor provision

That’s essentially right but the ability to use takedowns to bully the smaller fish comes from a slightly different source. What the DMCA safe harbor provisions both try and succeed to do is remove those intermediaries from potential copyright proceedings. This allows them to flourish but also disincentivizes them from providing legal assistance to their customers— the ultimate lawsuit will be not be Giant Media Conglomerate vs Comcast ISP, it will be Giant Media Conglomerate vs John Doe. So the fundamental problem here doesn’t really have anything to do with copyright, but rather the reality that fighting a lawsuit can ruin you even if you’re in the right.