It turns out that Twitch streamers have been worried by a new provision titled Felony Streaming Act that has been included in the latest coronavirus relief package Congress passed on Monday. Under the new bill, streaming copyrighted content is now a felony offense. Instead of going after popular Twitch streamers, other content creators and their subscribers, the bill primarily focuses on pirate streaming services that exist solely for commercial purposes. The $2 trillion government spending bill includes provisions aimed at combatting the effects of the ongoing pandemic but also featured copyright and trademark measures that would change how content can be streamed legally. When this information first emerged, it immediately caused concern amongst Twitch and YouTube streamers. In the days since, the purpose of the felony streaming bill has been clarified. The bill is designed to target services that go out of their way to stream unlicensed content. Previously, broadcasting unlicensed content to an audience would be viewed as a misdemeanor offense. Under the stipulations of the new bill, this is now punishable as a felony.
The new streaming measure arrives at a crunch time for Twitch. The streaming platform has been involved in numerous DMCA controversies that first began back in October. It all started when multiple users discovered their content had been abruptly removed without any warning for apparently streaming copyrighted audio. This led to the departure of some of Twitch’s largest streamers. Twitch did not offer any substantial feedback that could help confused users navigate wave after wave of DMCA violations. It offered vague suggestions, recommending that users should avoid streaming music or mute in-game audio to avoid triggering the DMCA removal procedure.
According to The Verge, the bill increases the penalties for copyrighted streaming but it is not changing what is already legal or illegal. This distinction is important to note because the bill does not seek to revise the moderation strategies that major streaming platforms use to identify copyright violations, which have a pretty poor record regardless. Twitch has publicly stated the new copyright bill should not impact its services, users, or audience.
![Twitch Streamers Should Be Safe From Felony Streaming Bill](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Twitch-Logo-Black-Background.jpg)
The prospect of streaming copyrighted material has become such a headache that Twitch hosted its first-ever live Town Hall in which the streaming platform apologized to frustrated and confused users for its erratic behavior and intrusive policies behind the waves of DMCA takedowns. The 2.5-hour discussion also included potential remedies to the problem. One of the possibilities Twitch is currently exploring is to reach an agreement with record labels so users can play audio during their live streams and avoid triggering a DMCA takedown.
There is also talk of another government proposal that would introduce new reforms to DMCA law. That might be passed during the next Congressional term. It is frightening tech advocacy groups and creative industries because of the implications. Copyright law is already messy enough and a new DMCA reform would only add to the legal uncertainties that streaming platforms, users and subscribers would be required to learn how to navigate. It is completely natural that Twitch streamers were worried by this new bill. Although it seems clear that the copyright streaming bill will not affect these major platforms, for now, it is still vital that social video platforms drastically improve their policies related to copyright, DMCA claims and strikes.