Twitch Overhauls Ban System: Violations Expire, Harsher Penalties for Repeat Offenders

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Twitch has unveiled a set of improvements to their ban system aimed at offering better support for established broadcasters, while also strengthening penalties for rule breaches.

Critics have long pointed out issues with Twitch’s ban system, particularly its lack of clarity and the justification behind certain suspensions. Even Twitch’s CEO, Dan Clancy, has acknowledged that these areas require enhancements.

On February 19th, the Amazon-owned platform announced significant updates concerning rule breaches, admitting that their previous ban policy had a greater effect on established live streamers.

In other words, the platform is allowing infractions to lapse without punishment to minimize surprise bans. At the same time, it’s intensifying penalties for repeat offenders.

Streamer violations will now expire on Twitch

As per Twitch’s previous setup, each violation, even minor ones, were permanently tallied against a user’s account. This could potentially lead to prolonged or indefinite suspensions.

From today, the majority of infractions on your account will automatically disappear after a specified period, the site stated. Most infractions, like cheating in online games, typically vanish within 90 days. However, more severe violations, such as offensive conduct, will persist for a longer duration and will be removed from your account in 1 to 2 years.

Today, we’re implementing improvements to our monitoring mechanism. The aim is to simplify the process of checking your infraction record and understanding your channel’s status; minimize the chance that broadcasters might unintentionally lose their audiences and income due to minor rule breaches; and furthermore, as part of…

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) February 19, 2025

Twitch anticipates that this adjustment will “minimize the chance that broadcasters might unintentionally lose their audiences and income due to minor rule infractions.

To clarify, anyone who commits serious infractions can expect a permanent ban. However, individuals who have been suspended repeatedly within a short period may request an appeal and application for reinstatement six months later.

Streamers are now able to follow up on any infractions they may have incurred through the appeals platform, enhancing the degree of openness and accountability.

Twitch announces harsher penalties for top offenders

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that repeated engagement in harmful activities on this platform doesn’t just lead to time-outs anymore – it now comes with increasingly severe penalties for frequent offenders.

Related

Twitch bans still make no sense

Twitch stated in a recent post that if you break the same type of rule more than once during the time period when that rule is enforced (which could be 90 days, a year, or two years), the length of the ban for each subsequent offense will become longer.

Essentially, if a broadcaster breaks a community rule and receives a ban as a result, but then repeats the same offense before the initial punishment has ended, their subsequent ban will be extended in length.

Twitch anticipates that these modifications may reduce the instances of permanent bans, encouraging streamers to adhere more closely to the platform’s guidelines.

At TwitchCon 2024, we initially unveiled these policy changes, with further improvements coming soon. Among them is an eagerness anticipated update, which will for the first time inform streamers specifically about the reasons behind their bans.

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2025-02-19 22:24