In order to ensure a much safer environment for users and creators, Twitch will ban users who harass other community members even if such actions do not take place on the platform. This is a major expansion of its off-service misconduct policy that allows the service to take action against users even if they are offline.
The new policy divides misconduct into two categories. The first category is in regards to misconduct on and off Twitch while the second one focused only on the misconduct outside of the platform. Though the first category is still the same, the second category is a bit unique from the usual methods of identifying harassment.
If Twitch finds out about “serious offenses that pose a substantial safety risk to the Twitch community,” it’ll take action, even when those offenses took place entirely off the platform. The company is currently defining these serious offenses as incidents of violent extremism, credible threats of mass violence, membership in a known hate group, sexual exploitation of children, and nonconsensual sexual activities, among others. Moreover, Twitch is also bringing third-party law firms to assist with off-platform investigations.
According to the company, in a recent blog post:
“These investigations are vastly more complex and can take significant time and resources to resolve. For behaviors that take place off Twitch, we must rely more heavily on law enforcement and other services to share relevant evidence before we can move forward.”
Ever since the company faced issues in regards to sexual harassment and assaults in June 2020, it’s no surprise that the company wants to take further precautions to make the platform inclusive and secure for all users of all ages.
