Twitch Release DMCA Statement; Apologizes for Content Deletion

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Nov 11, 2020 3 min read

Last week PokerNews brought you the story that several notable Twitch Poker streamers had been forced to delete hundreds of hours of content in order to protect themselves from DMCA copyright strikes.

Streamers from GGPoker and PokerStars had received notices advising them to delete any "unlicensed copyrighted material."

Now Twitch have released a series of tweets clarifying the current situation and apologizing to streamers.

What does the Twitch statement say?

Twitch start off by saying they recognize the "frustration and confusion" felt by its streaming community, saying it was "completely justified."

According to the statement, DMCA copyright strikes had been steadily increasing; from 50 per year back in May to thousands every week. Therefore, Twitch felt they needed to send the warning email to its content creators.

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Twitch Apologizes

GGSquad member Kevin Martin said last week it was "heartbreaking" to delete his older content in order to comply with the Twitch email.

"It’s sad watching content creators remove thousands of hours of good footage out of fear of a strike," he told PokerNews. "The copyright strike isn’t fun, to think the platform I make a living on might be in danger its terrifying."

"To all the creators who lost their community’s best moments, we’re sorry. This shouldn’t have happened."

Now Twitch admit that the three days' warning they gave in that email wasn't enough, and that they were sorry.

What do Twitch recommend?

Twitch ended their series of tweets with two main things that streamers should be mindful of in order to stay on the right side of copyright law.

1. Don’t play recorded music during streams
2. Delete VODs and clips that might have recorded music in them if you’re unsure about the rights

They also link to a recent Twitch Blog on the topic, encouraging people to read more about the subject.

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Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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