After the wave of recent sexual assault allegations against popular Twitch streamers last weekend, the live-streaming platform has begun banning some of these accounts.
According to a Kotaku report and corroborated by the StreamerBans Twitter account, several prominent streamers, including IamSp00n, Wolv21, BlessRNG, DreadedCone, and WarwitchTV, have been banned this week. Each of these streamers has been accused of sexual abuse and harassment, from sending sexually explicit messages to known minors to physically taking advantage of women at gaming conventions.[[[[To update: In what appears to be an unrelated action, Twitch has apparently banned DrDisrepect.]
The bans come shortly after Twitch released a statement about plans to fully investigate each allegation. “We are reviewing each case that has come to light as quickly as possible while ensuring adequate due diligence as we evaluate these serious allegations,” the statement read. “We have prioritized the most serious cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions based on our findings immediately.”
Twitch also said it remains committed to making the platform a safe environment for communities to come together. “We are also committed to continuing our efforts to make Twitch a safer environment with more tools to combat harassment and hate,” the statement said. “We have work in progress that includes a review of our Hateful Conduct and Harassment policies, improved offensive username detection, improvements to AutoMod and our Banned Words list, and other projects focused on reducing harassment and hateful conduct” .
The gaming industry continues to see continuous #metoo movement. Several high-profile figures, such as former Assassin’s Creed creative director Valhalla Ashraf Ismail and former Dying Light 2 writer Chris Avellone, have received multiple allegations against him. In both situations, the defendant is no longer associated with the project or projects he was working on. Avellone has also removed its contributions from the upcoming RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
