Twitch is not unaware of these threats. A Twitch spokeswoman said the company plans to stream a session in the coming months to give streamers a sense of real-world risk. In recent years, it has stepped up efforts to build security into the platform, said Mr. Verrilli, head of product. He noted, for example, that the site made changes to personal contact information on Twitch’s settings page so streamers sharing their computer screens wouldn’t accidentally reveal their addresses or phone numbers.
Angela Hession, Twitch’s vice president of global trust and safety, said her team keeps creators up to date on “how to protect themselves on and off Twitch,” including providing Security center And techniques to prevent human searches, slaps, and stalking. Ms Hession said Twitch was trying to create “a safe environment” but was limited in what it could help. For example, unless a company receives a valid request from law enforcement, it cannot provide identifying information about a potential harasser. In the past two years, Twitch’s team responsible for liaising with and informing law enforcement of threats on the platform has quadrupled.
Last year, the company Announce It will start holding users accountable for misconduct that occurs with “stop service,” calling it a novel approach for the industry. According to the company, Twitch users could be banned from the platform if they are found to have committed “serious real-world harm.”
Twitch must walk a fine line between protecting streamers from unruly fans and encouraging the kind of interactions that power and monetize the platform, said Mia Consalvo, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal who studies video games and Twitch. .
“They want to shut down the worst harassment because that drives people away from streams and channels, but they don’t want to hit too much because they don’t want to drive away too many people, too many viewers,” Dr Consalvo said.
In 2020, Twitch expanded its policies against hateful conduct and admit Some creators, especially minorities, “experience a disproportionate amount of harassment and abuse online.” The hashtag #TwitchDoBetter began spreading on social media last summer after Black and LGBTQ streamers said they were being targeted in so-called hate attacks, with automated bot accounts sending racist and discriminatory nicknames in their chats. spam.
