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Twitch DMCA : What does DMCA stand for? Why does Twitch have such tough policies regarding DMCA?

Karan Bahuguna
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Twitch DMCA : With the Voyboy Twitch Ban sounding off a whole new outrage, Twitch is back on damage control.

However, due to not a lot of knowledge being imparted on what DMCA actually is, this article is here to settle accounts regarding that. Earlier Today Twitch Streamer Voyboy got banned for unknown reasons but because of the complex DMCA policy, it is believed as the primary reason.

What is the DMCA?

DMCA stands for Digital Millenium Copyright Act. It was a copyright law that was made in the U.S. Its purpose is to address the rights of the owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights have been infringed, particularly but not limited to, the internet.

The DMCA’s service is not exclusive to just the States, however. This law is the reason behind most social media platforms having to ban loads of content creators annually. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998.

Why is Twitch so tough on its streamers regarding the whole DMCA situation?

Twitch, being the world’s largest streaming platform, follows DMCA guidelines to the very last letter. This ends up making it an extremely difficult platform what with it banning its well-known creators one after another.

In its early days, Twitch gave its creators lots of leeways and freedom. However, ever since it started gaining notoriety, the upper echelons of the management have cracked down upon the  DMCA violations, and getting a ban isn’t as much of a stretch anymore.

3 DMCA strikes mean that you are permabanned from posting anything on Twitch with that particular account. These recent series of bans have been happening due to the presence of copyrighted audio or footage being used in streams.

If Twitch wasn’t as tough on the whole DMCA situation, it would have a hard time in damages from lawsuits. Not to mention the lack of ad revenue it would experience thereafter.

Also Read : “Twitch Streamers have to delete their life’s work”: The Twitch-DMCA crackdown explained

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