It just got a lot harder to become a streamer if you live in Germany after the German supervisory authority for radio and television programs ruled that Twitch streamers will need to have a broadcasting license in order to stream.
The ruling by German authority Landesmedienanstalt decided that as streaming comes under the same category as television or radio broadcasting in German law, streamers must obtain a Rundfunklizenz (broadcasting license) to continue streaming. It’s an outdated law, to say the least.
Unfortunately for streamers, the broadcasting license in Germany can cost between €1000-€10,000, with the price be dependent upon audience size. However, with the license comes restrictions which could severely limit what kind of content someone could stream.
As pointed out by a Reddit user, if live-streaming has to abide by the same guidelines as television stations do in Germany, and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t based on this ruling, violent content and material which could be deemed inappropriate for younger audiences may not be allowed to be streamed before 1opm.
There is some hope though that this ruling won’t be permanent, with the Landesmedienanstalt stating that the guidelines need to be updated as streaming was not around when the rules were first created. However, until any updates are made, all streamers in Germany will have to comply with this law, even if it may only end up being a temporary one.
Anyone who continues to stream without obtaining a broadcasting license while this ruling remains in place would effectively be committing a criminal offence and operating what would be deemed as a pirate station.
Source: *Reddit
