Twitch Will Ban People For Insults Even If It Doesn't Happen On The Site
This is a major extension of the Twitch platform's misconduct policy.
Twitch will now ban users who insult members of its community, even if the insult comes from Twitch. Today, the streaming platform announced significant expansion of its off-duty misconduct policy, which allows it to take action against users who mistreat people, no matter where it happens, be it offline or on another social platform.
The new policy divides misconduct into two categories: the first category, which applies to abuse occurring on Twitch and for his outside, and a second category that only applies to off-Twitch harassment. The first category has not changed. If Twitch looks at a harassment report for something that happened live, it will take into account the associated harassment on Facebook.
The second category but, new. Now, if Twitch becomes aware of "serious breaches that pose a significant risk to the security of the Twitch community," it will take action, even if those breaches were committed entirely outside the platform. The company currently defines "serious offenses" as cases of violent extremism, credible threats of mass violence, membership in a known hate group, sexual exploitation of children, and non-consensual sexual activities, among other things.
Twitch is engaging an outside law firm to assist with off-platform investigations. “These investigations are much more complex and may require a significant investment of time and resources,” the company wrote on its blog . "In regards to the behavior that's happening with Twitch, we need to rely more on law enforcement and others to share relevant evidence before we can move forward." A company representative declined to name the law firm.
The move comes after Twitch revised its harassment policy last December. The changes included stricter rules on sexual harassment and a ban on promoting hate speech under the guise of comedy.
In June 2020, the company faced a sexual harassment and assault issue, with several women saying it did not do enough to protect them. While some of these incidents have taken place on the streaming platform, others have taken place off-site but involving members of the Twitch community. One of the streamers said The Verge, that an adult began sending them sexual messages on Twitch when they were 15 years old.
In its announcement today, Twitch said it would first focus on "the most egregious types of physical and psychological harm," but hinted that it might expand its off-duty harassment policy later.
The company also said it would suspend users who submit large numbers of fake reports.