Twitch announced on Tuesday that it is overhauling its suspensions policy to move away from its previous all-or-nothing penalty system. Previously, a temporary suspension resulted in the loss of access to the platform altogether, including the ability to chat, watch streams while logged in, and access basic information. The company is now implementing two distinct suspension types: streaming suspensions and chatting suspensions.
The new targeted enforcement system is designed to match restrictions with the specific offense committed. If a user violates Twitch’s Community Guidelines during a livestream, the account receives a streaming suspension. This blocks the user from going live and temporarily disables chat on their channel. However, the user can still watch streams while logged in, chat on other channels, and access their user dashboard. Viewers retain the ability to watch the user’s existing clips and videos during this period.
Conversely, if a user violates the Community Guidelines in chat, they receive a chatting suspension. This blocks the user from participating in chats on other streams but allows them to stream their own content and watch other streamers. Users with a chatting suspension can still chat in their own channel.
Twitch stated that higher severity violations present a greater risk to the community. Consequently, these violations will result in both chatting and streaming suspensions occurring simultaneously to prevent further harm. The most serious violations will continue to result in an indefinite suspension with a total loss of access to Twitch. The company emphasized that there is no place for serious violations on the platform.
The length of temporary suspensions remains unchanged. Both streaming and chatting suspensions will last from 24 hours to 30 days. With each new violation, the length of the suspension will increase. Accumulating multiple temporary suspensions can still lead to an indefinite suspension from Twitch.
Twitch determines the severity of a violation by considering the extent of harm it causes or has the potential to cause. Harm is defined as any action that leads to physical, emotional, social, or financial damage to a user or to Twitch. The company is working on additional suspension types that will roll out in future updates.
