In a move to combat harassment and enhance user safety, reports tell us that live video streaming giant Twitch has announced a new feature that allows streamers to block banned users from accessing their streams.
With a user base of nearly 2.5 million viewers, Twitch is taking proactive steps to address the persistent issue of harassment on its platform.
Blocking Banned Users in Streams
Scheduled for launch in September, this new protection feature marks a significant evolution in Twitch's commitment to creating a safe environment for its diverse community of content creators and viewers.
Currently, streamers can only block users from participating in their chats. The Guardian reports that the upcoming update empowers streamers to completely shield their streams from users directly blocked or banned by Twitch's moderators.
Prevalent Twitch Harassment Cases
Twitch has been grappling with harassment and toxic behavior for years. Some users reportedly participate in "hate raids," in which groups flood streams with abusive comments.
USC Annenberg Media tells us that these raids were widespread in 2020 at the height of escalating online racial tensions.
Moreover, female streamers have shared distressing accounts of harassment and abuse from male users within the Twitch community.
The urgency to address these issues is underscored by the findings of a recent study that revealed disturbing levels of abuse faced by female gamers.
The study disclosed that half of British female gamers have experienced online abuse, rising to a staggering 75% among those aged 18-24.
Furthermore, more than half (52%) of female gamers are concerned about online abuse when playing video games.
These incidents have left 1 in 10 respondents feeling suicidal, while 25% reported feelings of depression triggered by hateful messages.
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Twitch Addresses Concerns
Twitch has been progressively rolling out tools to counteract the circumvention of bans by creating new accounts. Additionally, the platform has initiated the sharing of ban lists among streamers to enhance transparency and facilitate coordinated actions against harassers.
The upcoming feature, however, stands out as a milestone in empowering streamers to assert control over their audiences.
Trevor Fisher, Twitch's senior product manager, explained, "If you ban somebody and they're currently watching the stream, playback will be interrupted for them so that they immediately lose the ability to view the stream. Then, if you go offline and stream again, they won't be able to watch your subsequent streams either until you choose to unban them."
Rachel Delphin, Chief Marketing Officer at Twitch, emphasized the significance of fostering the desired community atmosphere while adhering to established rules.
"They're cultivating the kind of community that they want on top of the rules that we have already established and enforce," Delphin remarked in a podcast interview with Variety.
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