DMCA

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act — US copyright law whose takedown-notice provisions routinely impact streamers, especially for unlicensed background music.

Overview

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is US copyright law that, among other provisions, sets up a notice-and-takedown system under which rights holders can request platforms remove infringing content. For streamers, DMCA matters most in the context of:

• Background music playing during a stream (the most common violation).
• Movies, TV, or music video react content.
• Sports broadcasts.

The 2020 Twitch DMCA wave

In mid-2020, Twitch received a sudden surge of retroactive DMCA notices targeting years-old VODs. Twitch’s initial response was to mass-delete VODs with no appeal process, which triggered major creator backlash. The platform subsequently introduced automated content flagging (Soundtrack) and clearer takedown tooling.