However, the lawyer also emphasizes that defamations are not opinions. Therefore, he considers the bans, under reservation, to be justified.
What about the lawsuits? Solmecke sees little chance that Scurrows and OrangeMorange will be able to return to Twitch early through their lawyers: The process would take longer than the two-week ban.
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
However, the lawyer also emphasizes that defamations are not opinions. Therefore, he considers the bans, under reservation, to be justified.
What about the lawsuits? Solmecke sees little chance that Scurrows and OrangeMorange will be able to return to Twitch early through their lawyers: The process would take longer than the two-week ban.
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
Twitch has banned the controversial streamers Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer and Kevin “OrangeMorange” Bongers – “finally,” some cheer on social media. Lawyer Christian Solmecke discusses whether the platform can simply do that.
What bans are being referred to? Streamers Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer and Kevin “OrangeMorange” were banned from Twitch for 14 days at the beginning of June. Scurrows announced his ban on June 7 via Twitter, while the ban of OrangeMorange was posted the next day by the automated account StreamerBans.
Both announced they would involve lawyers and want to return to Twitch soon. Scurrows had already sued to return to the streaming platform in 2021, three years after his supposedly permanent ban.
German Twitch scene celebrates bans
Why were they banned? Twitch did not publicly disclose the reasons for the ban as usual. Some people might not have asked “why,” but rather: “Why now?” After all, a ban on the “gamescom ruffians” was already demanded in 2022.
Accordingly, many were delighted when Twitch actually finally swung the ban hammer. In the comments on Twitter, many praised the streaming platform or expressed their thanks. Some content creators even themed their own streams around the bans:
Why are so many happy about the bans? Scurrows and OrangeMorange had already been criticized for their casino content for a long time. After they had significantly lost viewers due to the new gambling regulations of Twitch, they apparently changed their strategy:
- They started to show gambling on the new streaming platform Kick, but remained active on Twitch to bring viewers over.
- At the same time, they began to act much more provocatively: With their tweets on topics such as gender and cancel culture they offended many.
Remarks on trans people as a reason for the ban?
Scurrows himself claims he was banned for discussing the controversial documentary “What Is a Woman?” by politically right-wing commentator Matt Walsh. However, it is suspected that the ban might be more related to the tweets that the streamer posted afterward.
He stated that he had been able to convince a supposed trans woman to be a man and recommended her psychological care from a foreign doctor, as it would only be brainwashing in Germany.
Although Scurrows has since deleted the tweets, he claims he still stands by them. They were only misunderstood in the context of the documentary.
OrangeMorange, on the other hand, shared a screenshot indicating that the underlying violation supposedly occurred in February – right in the middle of the controversy surrounding Hogwarts Legacy, a game set in the Harry Potter universe.
Both streamers participated in the debate and publicly expressed their support for the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. The author is accused by critics of having, among other things, transphobic views.
Lawyer finds bans justified
Are the bans legal? Lawyer Christian Solmecke examines this question in his latest video on YouTube. We have summarized the key statements for you:
Does Twitch have house rights? Twitch reserves the right to refuse users service without notice and at its own discretion, meaning they can be banned. Particularly the part that Twitch can impose a ban for any reason is seen as questionable by Solmecke. In his estimation, this goes too far.
However, a ban for violating community guidelines is certainly justified, according to the lawyer. Solmecke suspects that Scurrows and OrangeMorange might have violated guidelines on hateful behavior with their statements regarding trans people.
However, Twitch, according to the lawyer, does not have comprehensive house rights, unlike a supermarket, and must uphold the fundamental right to freedom of expression applicable in Germany. Therefore, the rights of the streamers and the personal rights of the attacked group must be weighed.
Here, Solmecke sees a failure by Twitch: Since the streaming platform did not specify a precise reason for the bans, it is unclear whether the particular remark or action is protected by freedom of expression.
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
However, the lawyer also emphasizes that defamations are not opinions. Therefore, he considers the bans, under reservation, to be justified.
What about the lawsuits? Solmecke sees little chance that Scurrows and OrangeMorange will be able to return to Twitch early through their lawyers: The process would take longer than the two-week ban.
Currently, both accounts are still banned, with Scurrows mathematically due to return tomorrow, June 21, followed by OrangeMorange on June 22.
Twitch bans VTuber and she doesn’t know why: “Losing everything overnight is scary”
