Twitch is overhauling its suspensions policy

Source: TechCrunch

Overview

Twitch announced on Tuesday that it’s revamping its suspensions policy to shift away from its previous all‑or‑nothing penalty system. Previously, a temporary suspension meant losing access to the platform altogether, including chat, watching streams while logged in, and basic account information.

New Suspension Types

Streaming suspensions

• Triggered when a user violates the Community Guidelines during a livestream.
• The account is prevented from going live and chat on the channel is temporarily disabled.
• The user can still watch other streams while logged in, chat on other channels, and access their dashboard.
• Existing clips and videos remain viewable by others.

Chatting suspensions

• Triggered when a violation occurs in chat.
• The user is barred from participating in chats on other streams but can still stream their own content and watch other streams.
• Users can still chat in their own channel.

Enforcement Policy

“Higher severity violations present a greater risk to our community, therefore they will receive both chatting and streaming suspensions simultaneously to prevent further harm,” Twitch explained in a blog post. “And, as is the case today, those who commit the most serious violations will receive an indefinite suspension and lose all access to Twitch. There is no place for serious violations on Twitch.”

Duration and Escalation

• Temporary suspensions (both streaming and chatting) last from 24 hours up to 30 days.
• With each new violation, the suspension length increases.
• Accumulating multiple temporary suspensions can lead to an indefinite suspension.

Determining Severity

Twitch determines the severity of a violation by considering the extent of harm it causes or could cause. Harm is defined as any action that leads to physical, emotional, social, or financial damage to a user or to Twitch.

Future Updates

The company is working on additional suspension types that will roll out in future updates.