In this post, we are going to talk about bans on Twitch in detail and answer some of the most frequently asked questions:
- What can I do or not do on Twitch?
- What is forbidden?
- How long does a ban last?
- What can and can’t I do while I’m banned?
The topic is long, so we’d better get down to business.
What kind of bans are there? The first thing you need to know is that there are two types of bans on Twitch: temporary bans and indefinite bans. Temporary suspensions, also known as “strikes”, come with a warning and are used to punish less serious actions.
Twitch saves your history of temporary suspensions, so if you accumulate between one and three more, your account will go to an indefinite suspension.
Therefore, the second type of suspension is the permanent one: your account will be closed immediately and indefinitely, and you will not have the opportunity to complain.
How long do bans last on Twitch? As we have already seen above, if you receive an indefinite suspension, the Twitch ban will be permanent. However, if your case is a temporary suspension, the ban can last between 1 and 30 days depending on the severity of the infraction.
Twitch takes into account different factors to decide the duration of the ban, such as intent, context, potential harm to the community and legal obligations. On average, banned streamers are usually “grounded” for about three days.
If I’m banned, can I still join Twitch? No, if your channel is banned you will not be able to access any Twitch services. This includes watching streams, attempting to create other accounts, and appearing/participating on a third-party channel until your ban is removed. If your suspension lasts 30 days or more, any subscriptions you have on your channel cannot be renewed until you reactivate your account.
Can I claim a suspension? In the case of a temporary suspension, you can fill out this form and tell us why you think your account has been unfairly suspended.
What Will Get You Banned on Twitch?
Now let’s take a closer look at what a ban on Twitch can mean: although it’s a bit of common sense, let’s go over those things you can do on Twitch and those that can lead to a suspension of your channel. You have all the information in the Twitch Community Guide but in this post we are going to answer those questions you are most concerned about: music copyright, bots, etc.
Hateful conduct and violent behavior
Twitch defines hateful conduct as “any content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence” based on certain characteristics, and certain conduct is “strictly prohibited”.
The characteristics considered by Twitch are race, ethnicity, original nation, religion. Sex, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or medical condition, physical characteristics, and veteran status. So insulting, offending or making fun of someone based on these above characteristics is grounds for banning.
Of course, violent attitudes, threats or self-destructive behaviors that may be a danger to you are not tolerated either, so be careful also with the fashionable “challenges” because there are some that can end in physical harm and Twitch makes it very clear that it does not make exceptions even if it is a joke.
Harassment
As for harassment, it is a much more common problem on the Internet and do not hesitate to report it if you feel that a streamer is bullying you and creating a hostile environment. There are many streamers and accounts that generate hate in other channels, turning their chats into toxic and unpleasant spaces. It is also important to be aware of this in yourself towards others. Harassing behavior could include:
- Bullyings, such as repeated name-calling, or attempts to embarrass someone, with the intent to hurt them
- Telling someone to hurt themselves or kill themselves
- Creating user accounts dedicated to harassment or hatred
- Harassing or violating personal boundaries set by someone, such as circumventing channel bans, account lockouts, or requests not to contact them
- Disclosing someone’s personal information against their will or with the intent to harm them
- Filming someone against their will or with the intent to harm them
- Sharing content, including out-of-context or doctored content, with the intent to demean, intimidate or hurt anyone
- Scanning or raiding channels with malicious intent
- Unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment and sexual intimidation
- Deliberately entering false reports, reporting trumped-up evidence, or reporting brigading
- Inciting or encouraging others to bully
Defamation or harassment of Twitch staff, volunteers and/ or users is not allowed. Simply put, treat others the way you want to be treated. This also includes the sending of users to another channel, particularly if the channel owner complains. In addition, do not “raid” another channel; ask for permission first.
No sexism, racism, homophobia, and/ or other hate speech will be tolerated on Twitter TV. While there is nothing wrong with cussing on Twitter TV, you are not allowed to produce content or use language that others may view as sexist, racist, homophobic, or any other type of hate speech. This means no derogatory terms.
No self destructive behavior is to be broadcast.
No one wants to see you doing stupid stuff that has the potential to result in injury. Neither do they want to see you drinking excessively or harming yourself physically.
For more information on harassment, Twitch has created this page that teaches you how to handle harassment in a chat.
Do not break the law. This is simple to understand. If you are doing something that is illegal, it cannot be broadcast on Twitch TV.
Ban Evasion: Creating a new account while banned
Any attempt to access Twitch with a new account while you are in a banning period will only make matters worse. Suspension for evasion will not only increase the suspension period but can also mean an indefinite suspension. So there is no choice but to “do the time”.
If you have been suspended, do not make attempts to evade it. If you have been suspended by Twitch TV, it is best to just accept your suspension. Attempting to create a new identity or account will only extend your suspension. In addition, broadcasting your personality to another Twitch channel, such as being rebroadcast from a different site or appearing in a Skype call or video chat, will only delay your return to Twitch TV. Your best bet is to simply ride out your suspension until it is over.
Impersonation
Impersonating another individual or organization is also totally prohibited. Do not impersonate Twitch staff and/ or Twitch volunteers. Do not try to pass yourself off as a member of the Twitch staff. In addition, do not represent yourself as a Twitch volunteer unless you actually are a volunteer for Twitch.
Use of view bots
Twitch penalizes any form of fraud which, of course, includes the use of bots to inflate a channel’s viewer and follower numbers, and also coordinated practices between channels (Follow4Follow, Host4Host).
In this other post we talk more about the use of bots on Twitch. Twitch is in a constant investigation to detect fake viewers and followers, and the consequences are mass removal of bots accompanied by channel suspension.
However, one of the biggest problems Twitch faces is not victims. There are people who, in order to taint a streamer’s career, place bots on their channel so that Twitch penalizes them directly. Twitch is aware of this illegitimate practice, as every day they receive complaints from victims of the use of bots.
However, it is true that Twitch users are not one hundred percent satisfied with the platform’s complaint handling. Although the platform insists on having the issue of bots under control, often streamers who use real bots for themselves are not penalized, as it is difficult to verify who hires them. You get into a loop that is complicated to track.
In this category, we would also talk about spam and other malicious behavior such as wire fraud, spreading malware or viruses, cheating Twitch’s reward system or reselling Twitch features/services (such as moderator status of a channel).
Nudity, pornography and other sexual content
Although it is logical, the reality is that there are many bans on Twitch for this reason… and not always intentionally.
In relation to the previous section, unfortunately there are many users who live to try to ruin the careers of others: any message you receive via Twitter or other social network, our recommendation is that you do not open it live without checking it yourself first.
It has been the case that these messages included sexual content, which has led to the temporary suspension of the channel.
It’s frustrating because, even if the situation is reported, Twitch doesn’t have the resources to check it and will be forced to ban you.
So our recommendation is to not trust the messages and share them live immediately.
To be informed about what is considered sexual content or not, you can read Twitch’s Sexual Content Guide.
Intellectual property rights:
Another star topic would be this: can I use music in my streams? Before answering this question, it should be made clear that intellectual property also includes the following activities: sharing content from other Twitch creators, playing pirated games, using unauthorized private servers, sharing content from other sites and watching movies, series or sporting events.
So, about the music: in this other post we talked well about Twitch’s copyright policy, but here we leave you the summary of the situation: if you don’t have the rights, you can’t play it.
Do not re-stream another developer, publisher, or broadcaster’s content without obtaining their permission first.
This also applies to content that is found on websites other than Twitch. If you didn’t create it, do not use it on your channel unless the original creator agrees to it.
Do not stream games before they are released unless you have permission.
Finally, we take the opportunity to mention within this category that Twitch asks that you respect the release dates of games, so those who play in closed alphas/betas and pre-released games will be punished unless they have prior approval. This goes with the above rule. Respect all developers and publishers by adhering to their enforced street dates and NDA periods.
Bans on Twitch: what is forbidden on Twitch?
Twitch TV’s Rules of Conduct are not hard to understand or follow. So, if you want to make certain your channel stays live, keep them in mind at all times. Another example would be the harassment within the game itself as the ‘Stream Sniping’, although again, these practices are very difficult to track and not always get banned by users who cheat in games.
