User interaction and customer service is a vital part of any successful enterprise, and Twitch today took steps to both update and improve their service in the wake of the controversial Audio Recognition (AR) flagging that has been introduced in the last few months. Users who believe their material has been incorrectly flagged by the AR software will have access to the new functionality, provided they are partnered users or non-partnered streamers working in HTTP Live Streaming Format (HLS), while the rest of the non-partnered customers will continue to use the existing appeals process.

Twitch's AR Software has been Hotly Contested
 

Twitch's audio recognition system has been widely criticized as flawed and over aggressive. Among its most notable failures include muting VODs from DOTA2's The International tournament due to the fact they included the in game music from DOTA2, and muting Dreamhack VODs which included properly licensed commercial music.

The new system allows streamers to choose the reason from their appeal from a list of preapproved reasons. Said reasons include: "My video does not contain the audio identified", "The audio identified is in the public domain", "I created and performed the original music without including any third party audio, and own all rights", "I have permission from all applicalble rights holders to use the audio and distribute it on Twitch as part of my video", "My use of the audio as part of my video on Twitch is fair use". The new process also explicitly states several unacceptable reasons for appeal including personal ownership fo the tracks played as well as crediting the artist that created the music.

Twitch say one of the major changes is an attempt on their part to improve ‘the upfront education around what can and cannot be appealed, which is based on common content appeals to date’. Clarity on the rules around ‘what kind of audio is allowed/not allowed and what you should appeal’ seems to be the main focus of the new system, presumably the decrease the number of appeals in future and create a more efficient method of assessing and dealing with appeals.
 

Despite these changes user feedback remains mixed. One of the primary complaints is the sledgehammer like method of muting 30 minute chunks of audio as opposed to merely muting the flagged content. Follow the Twitch blog and stay tuned to ESH for all updates on the story.

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