Top 10 Biggest Twitch Controversies
#10: “Supporting” Small Streamers
This has been a point of contention for a sizable chunk of the Twitch community. While Twitch repeats the phrase "support small streamers", some folks feel very differently about the sentiment. Many will point out how Twitch actively promotes their biggest names on their homepage and even through emails sent to viewers. Others have argued back about not all content being of the same quality as top-rated streamers, though one would quickly point out that quality is in the eye of the beholder. Still, it's worth noting this, given how frequently the discussion pops up in forums and threads.
#9: Fragile Language Barriers
As modern lingo twists and evolves (or devolves, depending on who you ask), so too does Twitch's rules and code of conduct. Though Twitch has allowed streamers to manually censor words they don't want in their chats, the company enacted a platform-wide ban on three particular words, those being "virgin", "incel", and "simp". This was done to lessen the use of the words, but it wound up doing the exact opposite. "Simp" would become one of the most used words on Twitch, having doubled its number of uses from before the ban. Needless to say, everyone was dunking on Twitch for this.
#8: Banning Without Reason
In June 2020, both DrDisrespect and his fans woke up to find he had been banned on Twitch yet again, but this time was different. Whereas previous bans had a clear indication of why such a move was made, Twitch did not notify DrDisrespect as to why he had been banned this time. The Doc and his community went MONTHS without an answer, and it eventually escalated to the point where he plans to file a lawsuit against the company on the grounds of emotional and financial distress. At the time of this video, it is still unknown as to why he was banned from the platform. He claims he knows why, but he's not allowed to talk about it.
#7: The Ban Against Tayhuhu
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In December 2020, “Valorant” pro player Tayhuhu took a break from her stream to go make food before her daughter came into the room and began interacting with her chat. Twitch’s terms of service state that no one under the age of 13 is allowed to stream on their platform. Though not Tayhuhu’s fault, this rule is what got her banned from the platform. Tayhuhu and her followers would call out Twitch for the ban over this accident and even go so far as to call out bigger streamers who have done worse things and only got bans that lasted three days. (More on that later…)
#6: Cosplays Are Forbidden?
While we’re on the subject of questionable bans, streamer quqco decided to show off her amazing Chun-Li cosplay in September 2019. Unfortunately, this almost resulted in the end for her channel. Twitch placed a ban on her for “sharing or engaging sexually suggestive content or activities”, referring to her cosplay. Quqco quickly pointed out that nothing on her stream showed bare skin, and she even clarified that she bought a whole size larger than normal just to make sure she was fully covered. She would find herself in the same situation again over a different cosplay in 2021, and it would prompt her to call out the platform on its hypocrisy. (Again, more on that in a bit…)
#5: Workout Clothes Are Undies
As it has grown over the last several years, Twitch has become more than a gaming platform - folks use it to get fit and encourage others to do the same. For female trainers, this might be a problem, though, as “Overwatch” streamer Fareeha received a warning in September 2019 for supposedly wearing “underwear or lingerie” on stream. The stream in question showed her wearing workout clothes. Not underwear or lingerie. Once again, Twitch was lambasted for this and once again, called out for hypocrisy considering what the platform’s bigger streamers have done.
#4: The DMCA Storm
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In June 2020, Twitch saw a massive wave of DMCA’s, resulting in dozens of channels getting outright taken down or, at the very least, missing a lot of VODs. Turns out record companies were cracking down on copyright strikes and filed them en masse. This sparked a conversation regarding if streamers have the right to play music on their channels and whether they’d get in trouble for streaming reactions to trailers and presentations that used copyrighted material. In response to the concern, Twitch went ahead and...made it easier to delete VODs. Cool.
#3: The Hot Tub Meta
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As we’ve seen so far, workout clothes are undies, cosplays are sexually suggestive, and absolutely no children are to interact with chat. But hot tub streams in tiny bikinis - A-okay! In late 2020 and early 2021, much of the streaming community took note of how much attention the platform was giving to hot tub streams, dubbing the phenomena as “the hot tub meta”. Several streamers were called out for taking part in this and it quickly became a shunned portion of the community. Twitch defended these hot tub streams, stating that swimsuits were allowed because of the context of the stream, and they even dedicated a whole category to them. But you know, workout clothes are lingerie, and Chun-Li is sexually suggestive for existing.
#2: Leaving Their Source Code Exposed
In October 2021, Twitch suffered a massive leak that exposed their source code as well as vital information regarding their Partners. Luckily, none of this information related to logins or personal information. However, many streamers had their payouts available for the public to see. This caused many to question if Twitch was even a secure place to stream anymore, and it didn’t help that former and current Twitch staff had warned of the vulnerabilities prior. As a result, many streamers began to jump ship and move to YouTube, a movement that had already started after our final entry.
#1: Protecting Abusive Partners
As the “Me Too” movement has come and gone in waves, Twitch has found itself under fire for ignoring some of these accusations. Throughout the summer of 2020, many of Twitch’s Partners were outed for abusive behavior towards others, whether that be other streamers or fans. Even after this storm, Twitch still has many of these streamers listed as their platforms, and if any of them are ever banned from the platform, their channels are restored three days later. It has become a cycle that has led many to believe the platform is invoking favoritism in its algorithm and promotions, and it’s the primary reason why folks are closing their Twitch accounts and leaving in droves. Meanwhile, these toxic streamers get a three-day ban.
