A Mind-Blowing 200 Twitch Streamers Just Got Banned At The Exact Same Time
In a mind-blowing move, Twitch has banned more than 200 Middle East-based streamers from the platform and all at the exact same time. The banwave follows reports of mass tax avoidance in the region.
In recent times, Twitch has gained a bit of a reputation for showing the iron fist to streamers who go against its rules. Content creators both big and small have been slapped with a painful ban from the Amazon-owned platform for a variety of reasons. For example, "Doaenel" was banned for having an inappropriate username, while popular streamer Imane "Pokimane" Anys landed herself in hot water for breaking Twitch's DMCA rules.
Now, in a shocking move, hundreds of Twitch streamers based in the Middle East were all suddenly banned at the exact same time. The move even caused the Twitter page StreamerBans to have to suspend activity for a little while due to the abundance of tweets.
When And Why Did Twitch Ban Over 200 Hundred Streamers?
On March 10, approximately 223 Twitch streamers were all banned at the exact same time. While the shocking move left fans scratching their heads, it wasn't long before fans noticed that one thing all the streamers have in common is that they are based in the Middle East. According to journalist Zach Bussey, the banwave was an automated move from Twitch as a response to reports of tax avoidance in the region.
It all began back on February 19, when a multitude of Middle East-based content creators noticed their payments from Twitch were being blocked, including money they had earned through subscriptions and bits. As for the reason why, many streamers appeared to be left in the dark with no explanation from Twitch. However, some creators, such as "nectron90", claimed: "The only explanation provided from Twitch support was 'discrepancy with certain tax information.'"
Once again, there has been no explanation as to the massive banwave from Twitch. However, it is being widely reported that it is once again related to the experiences of content creators based in the MENA region.
StreamerBans Twitter Page 'Turns Off Notifications' Following Banwave
When it comes to getting the latest information for which content creators have been banned from streaming platforms, the twitter account StreamerBans is the place where many go to. However, after an overwhelming 200+ streamers were all banned from the platform at the same time, the page was forced to suspend notifications after worries there was a problem with its system.
Although the site explained: "We're sorry for the huge amount of tweets, we're turning them off for the near future. It does not appear to be a bug on our end, as the streamers do appear to be suspended." A little while later, the page issued an update saying "tweets are now active again. We've also implemented measures to not send 223 tweets again, when these streamers get unbanned."
Twitch is yet to issue a statement following the banwave as of writing, and it's still unclear how long the streamers' suspensions will last for. Herschel "Dr DisRespect" Beahm IV may have finally ended his dispute with Twitch. However, less than a few hours later, Twitch could have potentially landed itself in yet another heated legal dispute.