Popular Twitch streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel has been banned from Twitch due to broadcasting footage from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. With the Olympics on throughout the day in several time zones, it’s been tough to watch them live. Streamers want to watch and react to that content live, but the Olympics are strict on allowing clips of their content. Any posts and reactions to clips have been taken down, including those by xQc.
I THINK I GOT MY CHANNEL LIVE-DMCA'd. I TOOK NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FINE. REALLY DIDN'T EXPECT IT BUT I COUL'VE EASILY AVOIDED THIS. SORRY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED INCLUDING THE VIEWERS. I'LL BE BETTER/SMARTER NEXT TIME AND FOLLOW GUIDELINES MORE STRICTLY
— xQc (@xQc) July 28, 2021
Tokyo 2020 strict on re-broadcasting
In his traditional all caps style, xQc quickly put a tweet out after his ban went through. Twitch has yet to give a full explanation for the ban, but his tweet said it all. XQc attempted to re-broadcast short clips and moments from the Olympics, reacting to specific events. According to his tweet, he took “necessary precautions” but the ban still went through. At the same time, he was clear to mention how he “could’ve easily avoided this,” by more carefully following guidelines.
With pictures of what he did before the ban surfaced, it’s clear that xQc was reacting to the Olympics the same way he does for YouTube videos or Twitch clips. This ban brought fans back to an issue streamers have been facing for ages now: DMCA of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. While this usually applies to music on streams, Olympic content falls under that umbrella as well.
Now, xQc is banned from the platform until Twitch deems fit to lift the ban. This ban marks the fifth time that xQc has been banned from Twitch. However, this is the first time it is directly related to copyright issues.
