Twitter squashes Game of Thrones live streams on Periscope

For Game of Thrones fans without access to a cable or satellite TV package, there was a new way to watch the first episode of the new season live online last night one that might not be available for the second episode.

The much-anticipated first episodeaired Sunday nightin Canada and the U.S. on HBO. But it was also streamed illegally online by dozens of users of Twitter's new livestreaming app, Periscope, reported Australia-based Mumbrella,andsubsequently confirmed by several other news outlets.

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Media reports noted thatthe audio and video quality of the streams was low.But that may have been a good enough sneak preview for some fans.

Periscope was launched by Twitter in March. It and popular competitor Meerkat allow users to share live video on Twitter.

Periscope's terms of service say Twitter "respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of Periscope Services to do the same." They also state that the company:

• Will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement.
• Reserves the right to remove content alleged to be infringing without prior notice.
• Will terminate a user's account if the user is determined to be a repeat infringer.

On a statement provided to Mumbrella and several other media sites, Twitter said "any violation of the terms of use are taken seriously."

However, it also said it does not monitor Periscope and encourages people to report content that violates its guidelines.

In addition to being streamed live via Periscope, the first episode of Season 5 along with the next three were also leaked onto public torrent sites on theweekend,