The streaming platform Twitch has had a turbulent couple of weeks as there has been an outcry about the abuse that streamers give and receive through the service. A great deal of discourse was generated when Twitch responded to abuse allegations with a blanket statement that seemed to appease rather than take action. Since then, many streamers have been making statements about the issues on the platform and it now seems that Twitch has made a more active response to its problems.
As a result of the initial response to abuse accusations, many streamers took part in #TWITCHBLACKOUT which had users either not using the channel or donating their proceeds to charities. There was some criticism about this movement lacking organization, and others felt that it would not make an impression on the leaders of Twitch. However, it seems that Twitch is now taking a firmer stance on its high profile abusers.
Twitch has now banned Warwitch, DreadCone, IAmSp00n, BlessRNG, and Wolv21 as well as removing the BlessRNG emote. The action has prompted a new wave of discussions about the behavior of streamers and how they should be managed. Recently there has been an outpour of allegations made against streaming personalities and some of them have managed to evade the action made by Twitch. However, Twitch has explained their current action by stating "We’ve prioritized the most severe cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions in line with our findings immediately." This will make logical sense to most viewers but many will still want to see action taken against less high profile offenders. With the sheer number of accusations in mind, it seems that the gaming industry, as well as Twitch, may need to take steps to enforce regulations that protect streamers and fans.
Twitch has committed to making the platform "a safer environment with more tools to combat harassment and hate" and many will be interested in how the company manages to do this. There are issues that persist in the platform as well as in the gaming community and the number of allegations that have been brought to the attention of the company raises some concerns. Firstly, many will wonder how the company begins to regulate this kind of behavior and secondly how will the company act on the evidence that is provided to them.
Many will be pleased that Twitch is taking action against high priority cases, but it does seem that there is a lot more for the company to tackle. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what rules and features the company begins to enforce to protect both its streamers and viewers.