Fortnite leaks on YouTube are allegedly Epic’s next target to prevent datamining

Epic Games is acting on other fronts against Fortnite: Battle Royale leakers and dataminers. YouTube users who publish videos featuring leaked cosmetics can be requested to remove these videos from the platform.

Fortnite content creators on YouTube HYPEX, Happy Power, and Cross Leaks have allegedly received an email from Epic Games asking them to remove their YouTube videos that feature leaks skins and other cosmetics.

Happy Power said on Twitter that they could get sued for their leak videos if they didn’t delete them in 48 hours. Cross Leaks announced that they will stop posting leaks on YouTube, while HYPEX is yet to say something publicly.

Twitter user FNBRLeaks has revealed a screengrab from an alleged email exchange between an undisclosed user and an Epic representative. The representative says a video with Fortnite unreleased content on YouTube “infringes our intellectual property rights and our End License User Agreement.”

In another image, an Epic representative says videos with leaked content are misusing the company’s trademark. They mention a section of the company’s EULA that says Epic owns the rights to all content that’s in the game files, released or not. This would give them the right to file a copyright infringement complaint on YouTube to have any videos removed if they contain leaked images of outfits, gliders, pickaxes, emotes, or any other Fortnite content.

Despite the screengrabs showing URLs of videos that were removed by the user, there are several other videos with over 100,000 views on YouTube that show off leaks. If Epic is enforcing the rules on their EULA, it’s not doing it extensively yet.

This would be just another step in Epic’s attempt to reduce Fortnite leaks. The company allegedly banned game accounts of leakers last week due to illegal use of the game software. This prompted other dataminers who were not banned to quit leaking due to the risk of being caught and punished by the Fortnite company. Some also claimed the Fortnite community is toxic toward leakers and were afraid of having their personal information publicized by angry community members.

Dot Esports has reached out to Epic for comment.

H/T Bang