The CEO of Twitch, Dan Clancy, has issued a statement addressing criticism the platform has faced throughout October, particularly around their policies and treatment of content deemed anti-semitic or Islamaphobic.
The tension around these issues on Twitch was sparked by a series of high-profile suspensions, starting with Asmongold’s ban after an outburst about the Isreal-Palestine conflict.
This was followed by a revelation that users in the region had been blocked from making accounts on Twitch, which the Amazon-owned platform said was an unintentional mistake.
Addressing what has become widespread and growing scrutiny on Twitch, and it’s policies regarding hateful content, the CEO posted a short statement on November 1.
Posting the statement on X/Twitter, Clancy said, “I want to make clear that Twitch stands firmly against hate and harassment of any form.”
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I want to make clear that Twitch stands firmly against hate and harassment of any form. You can read more about our commitment to safety and belonging on Twitch here: https://t.co/xeThOoHOGU
— Daniel Clancy (@djclancy999) November 1, 2024
The statement was posted in full to Twitch’s blog. It is addressed, “To the Twitch Community.” You can read the statement in full below:
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen members of the community voice concerns about how we handle potentially harmful content. There is no place on Twitch for racism, hatred, or harassment of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. As our community has grown, we’ve endeavored to build Community Guidelines to prohibit these harms.“Twitch is, and will always be, about belonging. Each day, people come together on our service to build communities around shared interests, and to express themselves authentically. For this to be possible, we work hard to ensure that our community is a safe place.“Our Community Guidelines are foundational, and when we find content that breaks those rules, we take immediate enforcement action. This will always be the case.“Millions of streamers, with a wide variety of views and perspectives, spend time on Twitch. We recognize that some content, while allowed on our service, may be objectionable to some members of our community. The views shared by streamers on Twitch are not the views of Twitch nor are they my personal views.“We’re grateful for the feedback and input from our community. Our safety approach continues to build and evolve, as our service grows. We want to ensure that anyone can find their place on Twitch, and remain committed to ensuring that hate and harassment have no place here.”
Although Clancy says that Twitch takes “immediate enforcement action,” when it identifies violations of their rules, one of the main criticisms levied against the platform is that the suspensions are inconsistent.
Asmongold himself called Twitch out for inconsistent bans after his own 14-day suspension was confirmed, and the VTubing community in particular has claimed that they are treated more harshly than non-VTuber streamers.
