Twitch has announced a major update to its suspension system that will change how temporary bans work across the platform, introducing two distinct types of bans.
The Amazon-owned streaming service confirmed it is moving away from its long-standing ‘all-or-nothing’ approach, where any suspension removed full account access. Instead, it is introducing targeted enforcement that will restrict only chat or streaming.
Under the new system, users who commit less severe breaches of Twitch’s Community Guidelines will no longer automatically lose complete access to the platform.
New streaming and chatting suspensions explained
The announcement, which comes from Twitch’s Chief Technology Officer Christine Weber, explains that Twitch will introduce two new suspension types: streaming suspensions and chatting suspensions.
If a user violates policies while live, they will receive a streaming suspension. This blocks their ability to go live and temporarily disables chat on their channel. However, they can still watch other streams while logged in, chat in other channels, and access account tools like their dashboard.
Existing VODs and clips will also remain viewable, rather than their channel being totally inaccessible.
If a violation occurs in chat, the user will receive a chat suspension. They will still be able to stream and watch content. Users who receive a chat suspension can continue chatting in their own channel, but cannot communicate in other streams.
For higher-severity violations, Twitch confirmed it will apply both streaming and chatting suspensions simultaneously. The most serious breaches will continue to result in indefinite suspensions, removing all access to the platform.
Suspension lengths will remain unchanged, ranging from 24 hours to 30 days. Escalating penalties will still apply for repeated violations within set expiration windows of 90 days, one year, or two years, depending on the policy category. Accumulating multiple temporary suspensions can still lead to a permanent ban.
According to Twitch, only 2% of active users have ever received a suspension, and 90% of those users do not re-offend.
The company said its Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, reporting systems, and appeals process remain unchanged. Users can review and appeal suspensions through the Appeals Portal.
Their announcement also explains the overarching policy behind moderation actions:
“The severity of a violation is based on the level of harm that we think a violation causes or could cause. We define harm as including actions that lead to physical, emotional, social, or financial damage to a community member or to Twitch.
“We’ve developed an internal framework to map out our policies against categories of harm levels that are treated similarly. At the high end, this includes violations that present an urgent risk to physical safety. At the low end, this includes violations which are lower in urgency and may result in more of a mild disruption or annoyance.”
Twitch will discuss the update further during its Patch Notes broadcast on February 24 on its official channel.
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