YouTuber BadBoyBeaman has been banned and hit with a copyright strike after he exposed how Ricochet anti-cheat system in Modern Warfare II doesn’t work.
After revealing how simple it is to cheat in Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, journalist and “hacktivist” BadBoy Beaman is one step closer to getting permanently banned from YouTube. Activision filed a DMCA complaint against his video, resulting in its removal from YouTube and a strike against his account.
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Activision has turned the DMCA system on YouTube into a weapon by utilising it to restrict potentially negative news. After posting a video on his channel explaining why the Modern Warfare II Ricochet anti-cheat system is ineffective, the YouTube user known as BadBoy Beaman disclosed that he was hit with a copyright violation and forced to remove the video.
Even though videogame companies have the authority to assert copyright over gameplay footage, they almost never do so because doing so would bring about negative publicity. When it comes to multiplayer games, it’s generally accepted that livestreamed footage makes for good publicity.
PewDiePie, a popular YouTube personality, is one of a small number of people who have been hit with a copyright strike for this same reason. FireWatch creators Campo Santo submitted a DMCA take down request on gameplay footage uploaded to his channel after he made an unfortunate slip of the tongue while playing Player Unknown’s Battleground and used the n-word.
“We’re filing a DMCA takedown of PewDiePie’s FireWatch content and any future Campo Santo games,” Campo Santo cofounder Sean Vanaman tweeted. “There is a bit of leeway you have to have with the internet when u [sic] wake up every day and make video games. There’s also a breaking point. I am sick of this child getting more and more chances to make money off of what we make.”
In BadBoy Beaman’s case, however, his content would definitely have fallen under fair usage since it was more transformative and educational then most.
The video did not show people how to obtain cheats or how to use them, it simply shows that it is very possible and easy to cheat in Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0. If Activision are lenient on high profile content creators and streamers making videos and playing their games live in front of 100 of thousands of people, why would they issue a DMCA take-down request for BadBoy Beaman’s video?
Not only do Activision allow big and small content creators to make content and profit from their videogames, they even endorse bigger streamers who have been exposed cheating in their games.
It is against the terms of service for the game to utilise third party software to exploit and hence cheat in their videogames; but, it is not against YouTube’s terms of service to explain this in an educating manner, and that is exactly what Beaman did.
Considering that Beaman admitted using the cheating programme to prove a point, it would have been fair for Activision to just ban the account he cheated from or even himself.
Ricochet reportedly doesn’t work.
However, there are a large number of other videos that are still available on YouTube that demonstrate how Call of Duty cheats work and even provide tutorials on how to download and use them. Activision does not appear to pay any attention to those channels.
So, why is Activision so focused on taking down Badboy Beaman despite his strong anti-cheating and “hacktivist” stance? It’s because he is critical of some of Call of Duty’s biggest content creators, many of which he has proved with expansive evidence that they cheat.
Once such content creator is Nadia Amine; a relatively new yet very popular streamer who boasts being one of the best Warzone players with a kill-to-death ratio of 8:0. Despite constantly finding herself in the spotlight for her suspicious gameplay and having been exposed, multiple times, using cheats and boosting using a VPN, Activision have been extremely harsh on people who criticise her and have even issued game bans for “harassment.”
Nadia Amine is a new but already wildly popular streamer who calls herself “one of the top Warzone players in the world” since she has a perfect kill-to-death ratio of 8.0. Despite Activision being incredibly severe on individuals who criticise her, including game bans for “harassment,” she continues to be in the spotlight for her suspicious gameplay and has been exposed, several times, using cheats and boosting through a VPN.
Activision failure to condemn high profile cheaters has resulted in an exponential growth in cheating activities as people are no longer worried about getting banned in the game.