In the aftermath of the hot tub meta controversy, Twitch has committed itself to being more transparent about DMCA. According to Rod Breslau, a certified esports consultant, Twitch sent out an email last night reporting that it received about 1,000 DMCA takedown notifications from music publishers, most of which likely stem from publishers using automated tools to scan for copyrighted music.
These claims are all targeted at VODs and will predominantly affect streamers listening to background music while playing games or IRL streaming. In the email, Twitch claims to be actively speaking with music labels about finding solutions that work for both content creators and rights holders. Although the company expresses disappointment toward these music publishers for sending takedowns rather than opening up a dialogue about potential solutions, Breslau anticipates another wave of bans stemming from this interaction. It wouldn't be the first time Twitch has banned users over DMCA claims – in fact, retired WWE superstar Paige had her Twitch account banned earlier today.
The email Breslau shared on his Twitter account does appear to suggest that more bans are coming to Twitch streamers, and it even provides a solid reason. Historically, Twitch has rarely commented on issues of moderation publicly. That may change as the platform strives for greater transparency, but in the meantime, fans are often left to speculate about matters. This has led to situations such as streamer Dr. Disrespect's unexplained Twitch ban.
In his tweet, Breslau blames the music industry for making things unnecessarily difficult and "miserable" for everyone else trying to make a living on the internet. He goes on to declare that the RIAA will go after Twitch streamers and YouTubers for using a few seconds of copyrighted music in their videos, but ignore services like Spotify that pay pennies to the musicians who create the music in question.
Twitch's Terms of Service and moderation practices may also be involved. Twitch's rules have been in flux lately, making it very hard for streamers to follow them properly, leading to streamers like Disguised Toast being banned from Twitch more or less by accident.
Twitch just gave a surprisingly nuanced response to the hot tub stream issue, so it's possible for the platform to give this new wave of automated DMCA takedowns a similar level of thought and care. Only time will tell if Twitch does decide to go down the path of greater transparency and compromise. In the meantime, Twitch streamers have been warned.