Longtime YouTube star Ryan Higa believes his random ban from Twitch, which has since been reverted by the streaming platform, is something many smaller streamers should be wary of.
Higa was hit with a ban by Twitch on March 25 for “hateful conduct” while in the middle of an Among Us match. Only 20 minutes later, the content creator was unbanned and Twitch apologized for the mistake.
“They sent us an apology guys. It was a wrongful banning. It was identified that it shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” he revealed to his viewers.
Unfortunately, Twitch didn’t provide any other details about why he was banned to begin with, prompting the streamer to express his concern with the Amazon-owned site on March 26.
“They didn’t tell me, and I would like to know what got me banned,” he said. “Like, I want to know what not to say. You know? At least for the future, because maybe it is really offensive and I just don’t realize it.”
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Of course, with the lack of info provided by Twitch, the reason for the ban could be anything even though it was done so in error.
“That’s all I want to know!” he added, but further noted that it’s possible the ban was just a complete mistake, despite that being unlikely. “I can’t imagine they banned somebody over a typo.”
However, this all leads into a bigger problem – especially for streamers who may be wrongfully banned without a large following to make their voice heard.
“It’s kinda scary for up-and-coming people who don’t have that connection,” the streamer explained. “I think that’s very concerning for all of you that are trying to make Twitch your thing. I’m sure there are some of you here.”
He ended his statement by saying that he never even felt it was a possibility for Twitch to incorrectly ban someone like this. In any case, it’s unlikely that the company reveals more information regarding their mistake, but Higa made a compelling case for more transparency.
