Kick’s Co-Founder Claims Twitch Banned Adin Ross to Sabotage Their Streaming Success

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Bijan Tehrani, one of the co-founders, alleges that Twitch intentionally took actions detrimental to the streaming business of Adin Ross by permanently banning him.

2023 marked the entrance of Kick as a fresh rival for Twitch’s live streaming dominance. Streamers are drawn to its 95/5 revenue split on subscriptions and more lenient policies regarding permissible content.

To gain immediate recognition, the platform owned by Stake initially secured agreements with prominent figures in the live streaming industry, like Adin Ross, and subsequently added xQc, Amouranth, and others to its roster.

Following this, the content creator received a permanent ban from Twitch, as he displayed conversations in the Kick chat that contained racist remarks. Yet, one of Kick’s executives claimed it was an intentional act meant to harm their business.

Kick co-founder claims Twitch ‘created’ a reason to ban Adin Ross

Through several social media updates, Bijan Tehrani, co-founder of Kick, addressed a discussion concerning the continued ban of Twitch user ‘Ross’, who has been suspended for two years and yet, as of now, hasn’t had his penalty lifted.

According to Tehrani’s assertion, Adin wasn’t actually permanently banned due to unmonitored chats; instead, it was to prevent Adin from influencing Twitch viewers excessively.

The primary cause for Adin’s permanent ban, following the switch to Kick, wasn’t due to “unmonitored chats.” Instead, it was to prevent Adin from encouraging Twitch viewers to migrate over.

— Bijan Tehrani (@BijanTehrani) February 26, 2025

Notable figures have opted for flexible partnerships with Kick, including xQc. Often, these personalities commence their live streams on Twitch initially before transferring the broadcast to Kick, thereby retaining their audience in the process.

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve noticed something peculiar. I believe Twitch is subtly tweaking their policies to get rid of individuals they seem unwelcome on their platform.

He stated that if Twitch desires to ban an individual due to business or political motives, they might flexibly interpret or even create new rules to achieve this goal. His question was, “Has anybody else been suspended for two years over ‘unmonitored chat’?

Related

Adin Ross locks in Kick return & teases long-term future on platform

It’s possible that Twitch may manipulate or even establish new rules when it comes to banning someone, especially if the decision is motivated by business or political reasons. Has there been any instance where someone was banned for “unmoderated chat” and it lasted for two years?

— Bijan Tehrani (@BijanTehrani) February 26, 2025

Andrew Santamaria, who leads strategic partnerships at Kick, added his thoughts on Twitch’s move as well. He stated that the platform backed by Stake would not make a similar decision.

Our owners will never succumb to political pressure, as Zuckerberg or Twitch might, nor will we silence creators like YouTube or cater to political parties like Rumble. On Kick, you can freely express your thoughts. However, please note that we do take action against streamers who break the law, engage in hateful brigades, or put minors at risk.

On KICK, you’re free to express your thoughts openly without the fear of censorship or external political pressure like that faced by Zuckerberg, YouTube, Twitch, or platforms like Rumble. This is because our ownership is independent from any lobbyists or non-governmental organizations.

— Santamaria (@Svntvmvriv) February 26, 2025

As a passionate admirer, I’ve noticed some chatter suggesting that recent rule changes at Twitch could potentially mean Adin Ross’s return on February 25, marking exactly two years since his permanent ban.

Later on, Ross shared with his followers that there was no immediate prospect of his ban being lifted. In other words, he admitted that he would remain banned for some time yet.

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2025-02-26 19:54