New Twitch feature makes it easier than ever to ban streamers for DMCA strikes

Twitch has made it easier than ever for copyrighted content to be reported, which should result in more DMCA strikes and even more bans for streamers on the site.

DMCA strikes have been a big issue on Twitch for over a year now, with countless streamers getting their account banned for playing copyrighted music or watching videos during broadcasts.

It got so bad that many streamers didn’t even want to go outside for IRL content at the risk of having copyrighted music playing in the background, getting their channels suspended due to circumstances outside their control.

While the DMCA issues have slipped into the back of people’s minds with the new outrage being the hot tub ‘meta,’ on May 4, users noticed a new page on Twitch’s site allowing for copyright claims to be filed.

The page allows anyone with a Twitch account to fill out a form to submit a “notification of claimed infringement against the unauthorized use of your copyrighted work.” So far, parties can only select live broadcasts and recorded videos to issue their claim.

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From there, whoever is doing the filing can select exactly what was being infringed upon with several options to choose from: video, image/photo, artwork, music, and other.

The mention of “artwork” is interesting, however, as it suggests that this will make it easier for streamers to deal with having their emotes or other assets stolen and used by others.

Users must also fill out their contact information and agree that the claim is filed in good faith. However, seemingly to prevent abuse of this feature, Twitch also states that users must state they are “authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed” under penalty of perjury.

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Viewers seem a bit mixed on the new feature, with some suspecting it will result in more bans and reports than we’d see otherwise.

Twitch themselves have not yet commented on the form, as they have not a blog post or announcement on social media at the time of publication.