A Russian court ruled on January 31 that streaming site Twitch must pay a $57,000 fine for spreading what prosecutors call “Fake Information.” This ruling came after Twitch refused to delete content related toRussia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Launched in June 2011,Twitchwas mainly designed to be and is best known as a platform for video game live streams. However, Twitch offers a range of content, including some live streamers who choose to cover news and politics in addition to other content. This includes content creators covering the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the invasion began in February 2022.
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According to the Russian news agency Interfax, a court in Moscow’s Tagansky District found Twitch guilty of failing to remove prohibited content from its platform. The judge fined Twitch 4 million Rubles, around $57,000, for failing to remove what it claims is “incorrect” information regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Russian state refers to as a “special military operation.” The infringing content reportedly included whatthe government of Russiaclaims is false information about civilian casualties, general mobilization, and the “form and methods” of Russia’s military operations.
The ruling also cited Twitch’s refusal to remove content featuring lawyer Mark Feigin and former Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Oleksii Arestovych. The latter was a Strategic Communications Advisor to Ukrainian president Zelensky until earlier this month. Meanwhile, Mark Feigin is a Russian lawyer and activist who participated in several high-profile defense cases. These include defending opposition party member Leonid Razvozzhayev and captured Ukrainian air-force pilot Nadiya Savchenko. The Russian state stripped Feigin of his attorney status in 2018 and considers him a foreign agent.
This is not the first time Twitch found itself in legal jeopardy, having been sued by James “PhantomL0rd” Varga and Herschel “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm after they were banned from the platform.Twitch and Dr. Disrespect settled out of courtfor an undisclosed amount, while James Varga’s lawsuit saw Twitch forced to pay $20,000 in damages. However, this is a very different situation, not just because the Russian government demands significantly more money.
Twitch has yet to issue an official statement regarding the court ruling, and it is unclear how the streaming platform will respond to the ruling. Russia’s media censorship makes it functionally impossible to accurately report the conflict. This raises the question of whether Twitch might begin imposing stricter content guidelines to comply with Russian law. However, seeing asTwitch stopped paying Russian streamers last March, it might not be surprising if the platform refuses to comply.
