#Twitch to boot users for transgressions elsewhere

Twitch on Wednesday said that it will ban people from the popular live video streaming service for abusive or violent behavior in the real world or on other online venues.

Severe offenses such as violent extremism or belonging to a known hate group that take place off Twitch can get users kicked off, according to the Amazon-owned service popular with video game players.

“We believe that the occurrence of severe offenses committed by Twitch users that may take place entirely off-service can create a substantial safety risk to the Twitch community,” Twitch said.

“As a result, we will issue enforcements against the relevant accounts, up to an indefinite suspension on the first offense for some behaviors, which can take place offline or on other internet services.”

The list of transgressions that could merit suspension included terrorist activities; threats of mass violence; sexual assault, and threatening Twitch users or staff.

“We will apply these standards even if the target of these behaviors is not a Twitch user, or the person engaging in abuse was not a Twitch user at the time they committed a severe offense,” the service said.

If abusive behavior happened long ago, and the offender has undergone “a trusted rehabilitation process” such as serving out a prison sentence they could be spared a ban, according to Twitch.

© 2021 AFP