Currently, TwitchCon 2019 is taking place in San Diego, California. Twitch CEO Emmett Shear spoke there about the major controversial topic of recent weeks: Why some Twitch streamers get banned while others do not. However, this explanation also faces some criticism.
What is the problem? In recent weeks, there has been ongoing discussion on social media about how Twitch applies its rules to decide whether streamers are banned or not.
For example, streamers were temporarily banned for the following:
- a female streamer painted her face black to portray a black legend from Apex Legends
- a Twitch female streamer was banned for a cosplay as “Chun-Li”
- Twitch temporarily banned a Russian CS:GO player for using a derogatory term towards a friend – without him considering it an insult
- Gaming streamers are more frequently banned for using words that are considered either racist or homophobic
On the other hand, some streamers were not banned:
- the female streamer Alinity grabbed a cat and threw it behind her
- Tfue, the number one on Twitch, used the term “Nigger” when referring to NPCs – which did not result in any consequences
Fans of the streamers feel that it seems arbitrary when Twitch bans someone and when it does not.
This seems, in the eyes of the players, to depend on factors that are not transparent.
“We consider the context and whether there is intent”
This is what the boss says: Shear begins his response by admitting: Twitch has made mistakes. Every team makes mistakes when making thousands of decisions a day. However, those are corrected, and there are appeal processes.
Yet, even when accounting for errors, there will be situations that may appear similar on the surface but carry different penalties:
- Twitch pays very close attention to the context and intent behind actions
- If intent is recognized and a violation of the guidelines is identified, then the rest flows “like on rails”
- Furthermore, people who have been warned before are punished more severely than others
Fans believe: context doesn’t matter on Twitch
This is being discussed: The clip is viewed critically (via reddit). One user states: “What he says is 100% correct. They just do not apply it.”
Twitch is accused of not considering the context of an action when imposing a penalty. They have their “favorites” and do not follow a clear line in their decisions.
On reddit/livestreamfails, there is a belief that women receive preferential treatment. While Twitch strictly addressed LoL streamer TF Blade and banned him – a female streamer with similar behavior might get through.
The mood on reddit is polarized. Apparently, people wish for harsher penalties against women who seek clicks with sexuality, and lighter penalties for anything that falls into the broader culture of “gaming” or “animes”.
From the players’ perspective, Twitch often punishes minor incidents that occur accidentally during a live stream when something happens on the street to a streamer.
