UPDATE (05/13/2021 – 18:35) . Industry sources told Hipertextual that the blocking of Twitch in Spain is due to a request by Telefónica Audiovisual , who allegedly asked by mistake to block the domains related to live video broadcasts of this platform. Telefónica Audiovisual, since 2020, can request operators to block certain URLs if they have been used to broadcast pirated content without the need for a court order.
Twitch, the most used platform to stream video over the internet, does not work properly in Spain . The page loads normally, but when it starts, the streaming video player shows an “Error # 2000”.
The specific reason behind this incident is, for the moment, unknown, but seems to affect only viewers located in Spain . Therefore, it is possible to access Twitch using a VPN like Surfshark (as long as it redirects traffic to another country) or a browser like Opera (which includes this technology by default). In Hypertextual we have tested both methods and, indeed, it is possible to watch any Twitch stream.
Twitter user Captain Rayo has indicated that operators are blocking the domain that Twitch uses for live streaming . In the attached screenshot you can read the following sentence: “Content blocked by request of the competent authority”. This text is usually displayed when operators block a web page due to a court order.
The main operators in the country, however, have assured through their Twitter profiles that the incidence of Twitch is not related to their respective networks.
Social networks are on fire due to to Twitch failures
Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash
From Hipertextual we are in contact with Twitch to gather more information about it. We have also done the same with Movistar, Vodafone and Orange. In the next few hours, this news will be updated with the details provided by these companies or any other related information that may shed light on the matter.
