Because Rambler Group, the third-largest internet company in Russia, is now suing Twitch over that.
See, Rambler has exclusive broadcast rights to stream the English Premier Soccer League, and Twitch, by their count, has violated that clause approximately 36,000 times through the actions of their users. It’s now seeking 180 rubles (which is about 2.9 billion dollars) in damages, and wants to ban Twitch in Russia entirely.
The lawsuit for the money is dubious at best: apparently they’ll need to prove each violation individually, and in the very disturbing case they’re able to actually do that, rendering a judgement against a US company will be difficult – international copyright law is tricky as hell, which is why China has so many pirated and copyright infringing stuff on its chunk of the web. The Twitch ban, on the other hand, is far more likely to go forward, because it will require a proactive defense from Twitch, which may or may not happen.
Here’s what they’ve had to say on the issue:
"[Twitch] only provides users with access to the platform, does not post its own content, cannot change the content posted by users, or track possible violations of rights."
A lot of services have been leaving Russia as of late as the country seemingly prepares to isolate itself much in the same way China has. Twitch could be the latest in a growing list, which would be troubling for many, many reasons.
Comments
Comment on this Article in our ForumMore GamerzUnite News
Are We Being Controlled in a PC Game by Aliens?
New UFO Film proposes we might!
Explore an Eerie Archipelago in Dredge
A fishing adventure gone bad...
Metasport Arena and Burrst Open the NIL Door for College and High School Gamers
The future looks bright...
Automation Goes Too Far in The Last Worker
A bleak future for anyone looking for a job...
Alien Infestation takes over in From Space
Liberate the Earth in this fun new action-shooter...
The Ascent Cyber Heist DLC takes Cyberpunk Heists to a New Level
New Missions, Side Quests and more...