Twitch has been criticized for its handling of bans in the past, as the streaming site has been accused of inconsistency and a lack of transparency when doling out punishment. While Twitch's guidelines are clear as to what content is and isn't acceptable, the context of one's actions does have an effect on how Twitch handles each situation. Soon, though, Twitch's reasoning behind bans will be more apparent, thanks to a change the company is making.
Over on Twitter, Twitch announced that starting today users will begin receiving notifications that include both the "name of the content" and the date of the violation when it comes to bans. The post goes on to say that Twitch's goal is better transparency where bans are concerned, an issue that has been repeatedly raised by the community in recent months, particularly due to a string of high-profile bans and controversies.
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Perhaps the most notable incident of recent memory is Dr Disrespect's Twitch ban, a case that fans still haven't received clarification on despite it taking place more than a year ago. Rumors of why Dr Disrespect was banned from the platform in the first place have circulated around the internet, though Twitch has not presented a solid reason for its decision. Even Dr Disrespect claims to not know the reason for his ban himself, which makes the situation all the more confusing.
It's unclear if the new rules would apply to a ban as ambiguous as Dr Disrespect's, though he certainly isn't alone where bans are concerned. Twitch recently saw a wave of DMCA bans levied by large corporations from the music industry, which has waged a veritable war on streamers due to their proclivity for playing licensed music on the platform. But licensed music has also been increasingly common in video games, and with few warnings as to when a licensed song is going to play, some streamers felt the wrath of DMCA takedowns simply because of songs in the content they were streaming, occasionally featured in VODs.
Given the current situation, it's hard to argue against any increased transparency on Twitch's end. The overall reaction to the announcement has been positive, though some respondents have posed the question of why the change took so long to make in the first place. Others have acknowledged that, while the change is good, there's still a long way for the company to go. It's difficult to say which changes will be made next, but this is a step in the right direction.
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