Twitter Releases Data on Periscope Copyright Infringement

Is Periscope killing cable TV?

Periscope app on iPhone 6. (Photo: Periscope)

According to Twitter’s latest transparency report, Periscope has received more than 1,391 copyright takedown requests since it launched in late March. Periscope has drawn a lot of attention from Cable TV for piracy in the West.

Periscope was bought by Twitter in 2015 and has faced scrutiny after several high-profile television events, including the HBO prize fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao and HBO’s Game of Thrones’ April premiere, were illegally broadcast through the app. The app sends a video stream from a phone directly to the Internet, making it available to all.

Copyright infringement is a problem for websites and Periscope, as they depend on third parties to report copyright infringement. But where Periscope stings is that it can pirate events and videos live.

For example: Set Max has the right to broadcast IPL (Indian Premier League), but a user inside the stadium can live stream the cricket match through Periscope and that too without ads.

The report also suggests that Periscope’s average rate of copyright compliance, at 71 percent, is higher than both Vine’s and Twitter’s.

Periscope may not be the most preferred way to watch a cricket match, but it’s easily accessible without any subscription to TV and on your smartphone.