A recent clip shows an undisclosed Twitch streamer getting unexpectedly punched in the face whilst recording for his channel. The one minute video of the assault reignited a familiar debate within the streaming community about the legality of public filming.

The clip, which surfaced on the LivestreamFail subreddit, shows a male filming on his phone in the street as he engages in conversation with a few girls. Whilst continuing to film the casual interaction on his phone, another man swoops in and gifts a sucker-punch to the streamer from the side. The streamer then quickly leaves the area to return to his friends, showing them what appears to be a broken tooth. His friends comfort him and ask what happened, but the streamer abruptly ends the stream there.

The clip of the unknown streamer sparked a debate among Reddit users and other social media platforms about whether people’s permission should be asked before filming in a public area. It’s a topic that has gained attention before, especially around celebrities and paparazzi, and people seem to be no further forward in finding resolve. One Reddit user believed that that the male was a “one time streamer” and claimed that he wasn’t in the wrong and should press charges. Others speculated that the man who threw the punch was perhaps a boyfriend of one of the girls who was just being protective.

The legality of IRL streams has been questioned before and the conclusion seems to lie in the subject matter. It has been disclosed that if the stream specifically focuses on individual persons then permission must be given for the stream to be shared publicly. However, if persons are part of a general crowd then permission does not have to be asked. For the most part, this remains to be a grey area of streaming. “Expectation of privacy” is a term used in the United States that outlines the need for permission if someone were to film on private property, however individuals in a public area have no implied privacy.

The general consensus is that streamers should be mindful and respectful towards who and where they are filming by taking people’s privacy into account. Most comments regarding the “one punch man” said that he was in the wrong to turn violent, however members of the public are still within their right to challenge anyone who deliberately films them.

Source: boostfam123/Reddit