Félix Lengyel, also known as xQc, is a popular streamer known for playing games and doing reaction videos that garnered him millions of followers and about 54K average viewership. The streamer has been through many controversies, the latest being called out for “stealing” content for his reaction videos, according to YouTube lawyer LegalEagle.
The debate that started it
The situation on the matter started when Ethan Klein hosted a debate with the streamer on his H3 show. The debate revolved around “stolen content” and the ethics of making reaction videos and its fair use.
xQc argued that his reaction videos give exposure to smaller creators, while Klein replied that using other creators’ content for personal gain is essentially theft. This argument led to the leakage of Twitter DMs between the two creators.
LegalEagle calls out xQc
When it seemed like the issue between xQc and Klein had died down, a YouTube lawyer named Legal Eagle posted a video entitled ‘xQc Is Stealing Content (and So Are Most Reaction Streamers)’ where he extensively discussed the topic.
After listing the streamer’s past controversies involving copyrighted content, Legal Eagle insisted, “It’s copyright infringement whether it takes place during a livestream or during a video-on-demand, or a re-upload. It doesn’t matter whether it’s live or not, it’s still copyright infringement.”
xQc is no stranger to copyright troubles. For example, he was once banned on Twitch for streaming the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee did not take the streaming lightly and insisted that the streamer infringed on its copyright.
xQc, ironically, made a reaction video to LegalEagle as a response. According to him, “In civil law suits, if somebody doesn’t pursue you, right, well they just don’t. Nobody will enforce something that they don’t even care enough to pursue you for.”
Copyright infringement and fair use have been part of larger conversations regarding ethical considerations in making content. There are many grey areas on the subject and has sparked more conversations on the matter. The general consensus is that uploading reaction videos that add little to no commentary without permission from the original creator isn’t ethical. Whether xQc falls into this camp isn’t clear, as it varies depending on the video, as is the case with many creators.
Image courtesy: LegalEagle