Russian games studio, Battlestate Games, has come under fire for allegedly forcing content creators to remove negative opinions of its games on their content channels.
Battlestate Games, the company behind game Escape From Tarkov, admitted to misusing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to remove over 40 videos from YouTuber Eroktic, accusing the YouTuber of spreading “negative hype” and “misinformation.”
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, otherwise known as the DMCA, is in place to ensure companies can protect their intellectual property. Without the creator’s consent, YouTubers and Twitch streamers can be prevented from making money off their IPs.
Back in December, a Battlestate representative told Polygon: “We know what [the DMCA] is designed for. We had to use this tool in order to stop the wave of misinformation.
“What’s important to be noted is that we didn’t ban this person in-game. We still allow him to play and to stream [on Twitch] because he never cheated, he never broke the rules of the game, and he never broke the rules of the license agreement on the game. But in his videos he spread a lie, and we had to act fast and stop this.”
Jump-cut to February and Battlestate seems to be in hot water again, with Polygon now reporting that another YouTuber has accused the company of similar strikes.
We will rise from the ashes like it was nothing 🙂 https://t.co/E2MFrxsZvY
— Eroktic (@Eroktic) January 31, 2019
Influencer El_Dee claims to also have received claims from Battlestate, believing that accusations of “negative hype” are to blame once again.
Responding to the claims, a rep said: “Following the recent events, we have established an internal procedure to make sure that the company, its employees and agents are very careful with everything that constitutes a legal process.”
In last week I made more improvements for my livestream than Tarkov devs in the last 2 years. pic.twitter.com/bAim03cF3Y
— Eroktic (@Eroktic) January 29, 2019
Unfortunately, both Eroktik and El_Dee have said the strikes have had a serious impact on the money they make from YouTube, something which can be devastating for content creators who use the platform as a full-time job.
It’s not yet known whether legal action will be pursued by any of the involved parties.
Featured Image Credit: Battlestate Games.