Twitch has apologised to its creators and users for the recent wave of DMCA-related bans and content removal.

The platform addressed its handling of the issues through a lengthy blogpost, where it called the frustration over the takedowns as “completely justified”. It continued: “Things can – and should – be better for creators than they have been recently, and this post outlines our next steps to get there. Moving forward, we’ll be more transparent with what’s happening and what tools and resources we’re building to help.”

Twitch noted that it was a “mistake” on their part for “not building adequate tools to allow creators to manage their own VOD and Clip libraries. You’re rightly upset that the only option we provided was a mass deletion tool for Clips, and that we gave you three-days notice to use this tool.”

It added that it should have been more prepared, with the development of tools that would allow users to cut offending material from clips instead of removing the entire video, as well as giving more longer time to users to address any issues. While the company works on the tools, it expects “to receive large batches of notifications” of violations in the coming weeks, and have listed two short-term ways for creators to avoid strikes.

These include streamers and creators avoiding the use of recorded music in their streams – including in-game soundtracks – and the deleting of any archived VODs and clips that may have music in them.

Streamers have since reached out to Twitch Support on Twitter, asking for clarification on certain instances, such as “a recorded song just pops up out of nowhere at the end of the game”. The platform recommends users to review the end-user license agreement (EULA) terms of games. Alternatively, players can also mute their audio on streams or enable “streamer mode” whenever available.

Hey Kemi, if you’re playing games with recorded music, we recommend reviewing their EULA to see how the terms cover streaming with that music. If you’re unsure about the rights, I recommend muting the audio at the time, or if the games offers “streamer mode,” to enable that.

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) November 11, 2020

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