Why was IShowSpeed banned from streaming on YouTube for a week?

Darren "IShowSpeed" has been banned from streaming on YouTube for a week after receiving a strike. The streamer took to Twitter to share a screenshot of the email, which stated that action against the account was taken under the platform's spam, deceptive practices, and scams policy. He captioned the pic, "now way":

In a clip that was widely shared on social media, IShowSpeed provided further clarification, explaining that the week-long ban was due to copyright violations. The infringement occurred when he ignored a warning after he began streaming The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.

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IShowSpeed received a copyright strike after being warned for streaming The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 on YouTube

The streamer made a short video in which he explained how he was not allowed to post or stream anything on his main YouTube channel due to a week-long ban, saying:

"Hey guys, if y'all are watching this right now, if you've been on YouTube on my main channel, I cannot stream or do anything, guys. I just wanted to let y'all know. I love you all, bro, and I got strikes for spam and deceptive practices and scam policy, so."

Calling his own actions "dumb," IShowSpeed apologized to his viewers and explained how he wasn't aware that the content he had streamed on his channel was copyrighted, saying:

"I did something very dumb, I just didn't know that it was copyrighted. And now, I guess I just have to miss my streams. I apologize, bro. It hurts a lot but I'm going, I love you all, bro."

The Breakout Streamer of the year further clarified exactly what he was watching that incurred the copyright lords' wrath - he had just begun streaming The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022, which was also being streamed by FIFA on YouTube.

Apparently, it did not occur to him that it was under copyright. He said:

"And, if y'all wanna know why I got banned, it was because I was streaming... FIFA is currently streaming on YouTube right now and are doing a FIFA d'Or award. And I just wanted to see like, who won and all."

IShowSpeed also clarified that YouTube gave him a warning before the ban and that the suspension was likely due to him continuing to stream the FIFA Best Footballers awards ceremony after the warning. The 18-year-old erroneously thought that the highlight reels that were part of the show were the reason for the warning, and not the ceremony itself:

"I streamed it, they gave me a warning. I didn't know, I thought that the copyright was because of the gameplay highlight and not the whole stream itself. But now they gave me a strike but, I love you all bro. I'm going bro, bye."

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Social media reaction

The ban attracted plenty of attention. As one of the foremost YouTube streamers, a flood of reactions would be normal, but Kick proponents Trainwreckstv and Adin Ross both replied to IShowSpeed's original tweet, asking him to leave YouTube for their platform.

Adin Ross called YouTube's treatment of IShowSpeed like that of a "peasant" and hinted that Kick would be willing to sign a million-dollar deal.

Trainwreckstv continued his attack on Twitch and YouTube, asking the streamer to leave them:

Here are a few more general reactions to the ban:

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Copyright strikes are handled very strictly by all the major streaming websites, and it's worth noting that Kick was recently embroiled in a similar controversy after Adin Ross and others streamed the Superbowl without permission.