The dispute between the streamers Kevin “Orangemorange” Bongert and Kilian “Tanzverbot” Heinrich has been concerning the German Twitch scene for some time. Now it seems a new level of escalation has been reached, as Orangemorange published the address of his opponent and accused him of drug abuse. Lawyer Christian Solmecke explains what consequences this may have.
What was the background? The dispute between the casino streamer Orangemorange and the gambling critic Tanzverbot has been brewing for a while. At gamescom in August 2022, there was even a physical altercation. Since then, apart from some barbs on Twitter, things have been rather quiet.
However, this changed when Tanzverbot targeted Kick, the new streaming home for many gambling streamers. In a tweet, he suspected that viewer numbers were being artificially inflated there. Later, he addressed it in a stream.
How did the gambling streamers react? Among the viewers was apparently also Orangemorange, who accused the Berliner and his girlfriend of taking cocaine and donated money to him – for a drug test.
In his own stream, Orangemorange then showed a housing advertisement. He stated that he was considering moving there, as the apartment was a real bargain. He reportedly was not aware that this was Tanzverbot’s apartment, whose address he thus made public for his – allegedly – 2,500 to 3,000 viewers.
The lawyer Christian Solmecke is particularly active in the areas of media and IT law, and his clients also include content creators. In a YouTube video, he explains what consequences the actions could have for Orangemorange.
Fines and even imprisonment could be looming
What is the situation regarding the drug allegations? Solmecke sees the repeated references to a hair test as fulfilling the criteria for defamation and slander. It does not matter that Orangemorange refers to so-called rumors that he has heard.
Since a hair test is so closely associated with cocaine and Orangemorange cannot prove the alleged drug use, Solmecke states that this constitutes slander. For this, a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine could be threatened, according to the lawyer.
To fulfill the criteria for slander, the streamer would need to be aware that his allegations about Tanzverbot are false. Then, he could even face up to 2 years of imprisonment.
Does Orangemorange have to go to prison now? In both cases, these are so-called request offenses. Tanzverbot would first need to file a criminal complaint before anything happens. Only then would an investigation be initiated and it would be determined whether the criteria are met before deciding on a penalty.
These are criminal law possibilities. However, Solmecke explains that Tanzverbot could take civil action against Orangemorange. The Berliner could demand a cease and desist declaration.
This would require Orangemorange to commit not to do something like this again, or otherwise pay €5,000 to Tanzverbot.
The Twitch streamer Jens “Knossi” Knossala has also had experiences with the law – albeit only with Barbara Salesch.
Publication of addresses can have serious consequences
What about the address leaks? According to Solmecke, by publishing the residential address of the Berliner, Orangemorange has also violated data protection law – even if he framed it as an accident. In this case, Tanzverbot could demand damages.
Because if the addresses of streamers fall into the wrong hands, a lot can be done with that. For instance, the fire department could be sent over or the police could suddenly show up at the grandparents.
A streamer even explained that she is traumatized by the so-called swatting incidents.
Alternatively, according to Solmecke, Tanzverbot could also assert claims for damages and cease and desist due to an infringement of personality rights. Since these are two larger content creators, the penalty here could amount to around €10,000, says the lawyer.
To assert these claims, however, the Berliner would need evidence, such as uncensored screenshots showing the publication.
The full video can be found on the YouTube channel of Christian Solmecke.
The conflict between Orangemorange and Tanzverbot seems to have reached a new level. The triggers appear to be the Berliner’s suspicions that Kick would artificially inflate viewer numbers to create hype.
Twitch streamers are now showing gambling on Kick, but something does not seem right
