Twitch has reportedly forced the US Army to stop presenting viewers with fake gifts that give recruiters their contact information. Periodically a link would appear in the US Army Twitch chat that would announce the possibility of winning an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller but would lead to a registration page with no information about the contest, according to The Nation.
A disclosure at the bottom indicates that a recruiter would contact those who completed the form. Persons up to the age of 12 can complete the form, although a notice given after the form is completed states that recruiters cannot contact anyone under the age of 16.
Twitch has now taken steps to close the gifts. He told Kotaku in a statement, “Under our Terms of Service, promotions on Twitch must comply with all applicable laws. This promotion did not comply with our Terms, and we have required them to be removed.”
GameSpot has contacted the U.S. Army for comment.
The Army, Navy, and Air Force broadcast on Twitch under their electronic sports teams, which also function as recruiters during broadcasts. This has been controversial as anyone as young as 13 can sign up for Twitch, allowing recruiters to engage with a young audience.
The United States Army’s Twitch channel was recently criticized for prohibiting users from mentioning United States war crimes. Before that, people turned the U.S. Army esports Discord channel ban into a speed race.
This comes after Twitch promised to take more aggressive action against streamers for violating his terms, including Dr. Disrespect’s permanent ban without publicly disclosing the motive. Twitch itself has come under recent criticism for releasing a Black Lives Matter video featuring primarily white streamers and for saying that the G on LGBTQIA + meant “player.”
