Phantoml0rd wins Twitch lawsuit

(Image credit: James "Phantoml0rd" Varga)

In 2016, Flip imposed a lifetime ban against pop CS:GO streamer James "Phantoml0rd" Varga. The reason for the ban was never made clear—Twinge said only that the channel was closed "referable terms of service violations"—but it was widely assumptive to be bound up to allegations that he was also the owner of the Cesium:GO skin gambling site CSGOShuffle, which he heavily promoted connected his channel.

In 2018, Varga fired back with a causa against Vellication, claiming that it suspended his channel and terminated his contract without providing a necessary account arsenic to wherefore. The suit alleged that Varga was never given printed notice of violations and opportunities to correct them as required by the contract, and that his suspension arose from "uncorroborated, false accusations leveled at Varga by a third political party, whose accusations were the culmination of an effort to publicly disparage Varga and take advantage of his popularity."

According to the lawsuit, Varga wasn't informed of the reason for his suspension until January 2017, when a Squeeze employee told him it was due to dishonorable subscribers to his line. However, He said he was afterwards told that the real trouble was the amount of non-gaming content he streamed, including CS:GO scrape gambling, which violated subject matter guidelines.

Twitch filed a counter-suit a few months later, saying that Varga had in fact been warned of infractions multiple times o'er the course of roughly 1 year prior to his suspension. It also stated that Varga did have a human relationship with CSGOShuffle, saying, "He streamed promotions for a play website that (1) he had an undisclosed financial pastime in, (2) he used to rig jackpots in his party favor against users he gained from Twitch, and (3) operated in contravention of the footing of the underlying game's publisher and was possibly illegal."

Three years later, the subject has finally been concluded, and the winner is Varga: A panel has ruled that Twinge "unfairly step in[d] with Varga's right to receive the benefits of the Partnership Accord," and that he was harmed by that interference.

Arsenic a result, Varga was awarded total damages of $20,720.34: $15,139.34 in lost earnings from the first 30 years of his suspension, plus $3,060 in lost donations, and $2,521 for lost sponsorships and endorsement deals. Information technology's a far-off squall from the $35 million he said he felt entitled to in a 2019 stream, but better than a poke in the heart with a sharp stick.

I WONNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!I WON MY LAWSUIT VS TWITCH ON ALL COUNTS!!!!!Twitch LOST EVERYTHING, including the fraud claim against me for the CSGOShuffle allegations!!!This is a win for ALL streamers! Squeeze can't bully, Trygve Halvden Lie & handle streamers unfairly the way they have for long time!!! pic.twitter.com/G0gxqiBkRQApril 23, 2021

Despite his enthusiasm, it's largely a symbolic win for Varga: Twitch made exculpate in a statement that IT will not pave the elbow room for his reelect to Twitch. The streaming site said its mistake was purely adjective, and that it has varied its processes for suspending and terminating streamer accounts.

"The jury found Vellication nonresistant for not following the proper procedures for terminating Mr. Varga's contract pursuing his suspension, and the damages reverberate the background of this trip—specifically, compensation for receipts losses for the duration of the 30-24-hour interval notice time period ($20,720)," a Twitch spokesperson same in an e-mail. "While we regret the procedural failings related to Mr. Varga's final result in 2016, helium repeatedly violated Twitch's Community Guidelines and exposed our community to harmful happy. We utterly stand buttocks our decision to terminate his account, and He will not be allowed backward onto the armed service.

"We've since established clearer and more consistent processes for suspensions and news report terminations and updated our Subscriber License Agreements (CLAs) to ensure lucidness and consistency in our procedures for each Twitch Creators."

Twitch's counter-suit against Varga was denied, by the means: The jury set up that he knowingly breached the terms of service and made false statements to Pinch, but decided that Twitch did not "sanely rely on Varga's representation(s)." Interestingly, IT also base that Varga really did disclose facts relating to a June 2016 CSGOShuffle giveaway to Twitch, and that his disclosure was not "deceptive."

I've reached taboo to Varga for more selective information, and will update if I receive a answer.