Twitch reinstates Donald Trump's account following permanent ban in 2021
"We believe there is value in hearing from Presidential nominees directly."
Twitch has reinstated former President Donald Trump's account, following a permanent ban in 2021 following the storming of the US Capitol building.
It's unclear if this was specifically requested by the Trump campaign team. Eurogamer was provided the following statement from a Twitch spokesperson:
"We reinstated former President Trump's Twitch channel," it reads. "We believe there is value in hearing from Presidential nominees directly, when possible. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for US president."
Further, Twitch has made it clear the same community guidelines apply to public figures.
"We continue to enforce our Community Guidelines and take necessary enforcement action when we identify violations of our rules," the statement continues. "Twitch doesn't have a 'public figure policy', meaning all channels are equally subject to our guidelines, regardless of whether the channel belongs to a public figure."
Twitch banned Trump's account "due to the ongoing risk of further incitement of violence," it said at the time. "The President's statements continue to be interpreted as calls to action, and we are taking this action to remove the potential for harm to our community and the general public."
While news of the reinstatement broke over the weekend (thanks PC Gamer) and Trump's account had not been updated, now it includes a live broadcast from Michigan and a 2024 campaign banner image.
Twitch's community guidelines have clear rules on hateful conduct: "Twitch does not permit behaviour that is motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, including behaviour that promotes or encourages discrimination, denigration, harassment, or violence based on the following protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, colour, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, serious medical condition, and veteran status."
It also includes rules on breaking the law and off-service conduct - it's the latter that came into play for Trump's previous ban. "Twitch has clear rules that prohibit hateful conduct, harassment, or incitement of violence on our service, and we consider off-service events when making enforcement decisions," said Twitch in 2021 following Trump's ban.
Since the news broke of Trump's account being reinstated, contributions to Team Kennedy by Twitch CEO Dan Clancy have been discovered. Robert F Kennedy Jr is an anti-vaccine activist who was banned from Instagram in 2021 for spreading misinformation.
Clancy has responded, stating it was his wife who made the donation. "Not quite sure why it comes across in my name," he said. "Don't take me saying this as being negative about Robert Kennedy but don't take this donation as me being a fan either."
He then followed up: "By the way, if you're curious about my political views, feel free to ask on my next live stream. Happy to share!" His Twitch stream schedule is currently blank.
Twitch has been marred by scandal in recent weeks, after high-profile streamer Guy "Dr Disrespect" Beahm admitted he was permanently banned from the platform in 2020 after exchanging "messages with an individual minor back in 2017" that "leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate".
What's the future of Twitch? I spoke with VP of product Jeremy Forrester and VP of global partnerships Pontus Eskilsson at TwitchCon Europe to discuss safety and the importance of finding community.