On January 31st, a Russian tribunal determined that Twitch must face a punishment of $57,000 for propagating what authorities dub “Fake Information.” Based on Twitch’s refusal to remove material on Russia’s incursion of Ukraine, the court has reached this decision.
When it first debuted in June 2011, Twitch’s primary focus was and still is live video game streaming. Still, Twitch provides a wide variety of information, as well as some live broadcasters opt to discuss events and elections in addition to other topics. Artists documenting the attack on Ukraine in February 2022, which has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, fall under this category.
A tribunal in Moscow’s Tagansky County has convicted Twitch responsible of neglecting to delete illegal information from its site, as reported by the Russian news outlet Interfax. Twitch was penalized 4 million Rubles, or about $57,000, for neglecting to delete what the Russian government calls “inaccurate” material on Russia’s incursion of Ukraine. Allegedly violating materials included what the Russian government calls “false information” concerning civilian fatalities, mass mobilization, and the “form and techniques” of Russian military operations.
Twitch was named in the judgment for failing to delete videos involving attorney Mark Feigin as well as erstwhile Ukrainian Presidential Counselor Oleksii Arestovych. As recently as earlier this month, the latter served as Strategic Communications Advisor to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Mark Feigin, meantime, is a Russian attorney and activist who has taken part in a number of high-profile defense trials. Nadiya Savchenko, a pilot with the Ukrainian Air Force, was arrested and is among those being defended by the opposition coalition. As of 2018, the Russian government no longer recognizes Feigin as an advocate and instead labels him a foreign lobbyist.
Twitch has been in regulatory hot water before when it was challenged by Twitch banees James “PhantomL0rd” Varga as well as Herschel “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm. Dr. Disrespect and Twitch reached an out-of-court settlement for an unknown sum, whereas James Varga was awarded $20,000 in compensation after filing a case against Twitch. Not only does the Russian government want a lot more cash this time around, but the circumstances themselves are considerably different.
It is unknown how Twitch will react to the court verdict as the streaming site has not yet issued a remark on the matter. Russian control of the media effectively prevents any objective coverage of the fighting.
This leads one to wonder whether Twitch will start enforcing stronger content limits in order to meet the requirements of Russian legislation. Although it would be unexpected, Twitch may refuse to cooperate since, in March of last year, it ceased paying Russian broadcasters.
