Twitch streamer unbanned after copping DMCA strike twice for same clip

Twitch streamer ‘OmegaPro’ has had his account wrongfully “terminated” after being hit by two DMCA strikes for the same clip. However, the platform has reversed the decision two days after it was made.

This article has been updated to reflect Twitch unbanning OmegaPro’s account.

DMCA takedowns are commonplace on Twitch, especially now in 2021 with record labels and others cracking down on what gets used on the platform.

However, a streamer getting struck twice for the same clip is unheard of. That’s reportedly what happened to OmegaPro though, a variety streamer who broadcasts everything from GTA RP to JRPGs.

After serving a two-day ban for a DMCA strike, OmegaPro was struck immediately with a new ban after going live on May 12.

“I got banned for the same VOD that I was banned for last week, a VOD that’s already been deleted,” he said on Twitter.

The second ban in just a week led to Twitch terminating his account permanently.

“The copyright claim seemed to be the exact same as the one I had received the week prior, the only difference being that the claim states I streamed I streamed the same content today that I did last week,” he told Dexerto.

“The time stamp given with the copyright takedown was a moment in my stream where I was playing Persona 5.

“The copyrighted content was Vampire Diaries.”

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OmegaPro, who has 33,000 followers on the platform and 100,000 YouTube subscribers, relies on the platform as his main source of income.

“If I were to lose it, my life would severely negatively impacted.

“I do had a decent following on Twitter and YouTube, so assuming this ban doesn’t get reversed, I believe I could start over and build an audience on another streaming platform.

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“Rebuilding everything would be incredibly mentally and emotionally taxing for me, and I would much prefer to stay on Twitch as I prefer the experience of streaming and viewing streams on there.”

OmegaPro’s account wasn’t down for too long though. The streamer got it back within 48 hours on May 14, thanking his fans for all the support.

“I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that supported me during this entire ordeal,” he said on Twitter.

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“So many individuals reached out to me personally to try and help me with nothing to gain at all. The outpouring support truly meant the world to me.

With his channel back online, OmegaPro now wants to work with Twitch and other parties to try and improve their DMCA processes for other streamers.

“Ideally, I would really love to see Twitch change up how they handle DMCA. I think an amazing place to start would be to wipe the strikes after a 90 day period, similar to how YouTube currently handles it and how Twitch handles other TOS violations.

“I understand that the DMCA issue is a nuanced one, but I don’t see a reason why DMCA violations should be a permanent mark on your channel.”