To keep its platform safe and secure for all, streaming giant Twitch has established a long list of banned words and speech that streamers and their audiences can’t use, under threat of suspension.
Twitch is one of the largest streaming platforms today, and it plays hot to almost any type of stream a viewer could want to see. From gaming, to just chatting, to podcasts and art, there’s something for everyone to watch. This sometimes leads to conflicts, however, between the content streamers want to create and the Twitch Terms of Service.
Despite the plethora of content on the platform, some speech is never allowed on Twitch. Here we’ll lay out the banned words and types of content that viewers and streamers should be aware of, so they can avoid getting banned themselves.
Most banned words on Twitch fall into a few different categories that can get users in trouble if used, and many of them have to do with hateful or exclusionary language.
Every user, streamer, or guest on Twitch has to agree to the platform’s Community Guidelines. These rules include everything from the platform’s attire policy to its prohibition on gambling. The Community Guidelines also extend to speech and what users are allowed to say, particularly with respect to hateful content. Speech on Twitch can be banned if the words used meet one or more of the following criteria:
Using banned words on Twitch is no joke, either. A number of well-known streamers have received temporary or even permanent bans by saying them on stream or in chat. This can be a major blow to creators who are Twitch partners or otherwise rely on the platform for any form of income. For example, popular and prominent streamer Adin Ross alleges he was banned due to a Kick overlay featuring such content considered offensive by Twitch.
Twitch can ban channels for violating Community Agreements. Image credit: Twitch
Twitch expects its streamers to moderate their content and their viewers to prevent banned content from getting through and appearing live on stream. They encourage this through the use of channel moderators and timeouts to control their chat. Content creators can get their accounts banned for failing to act on such content, and can potentially be held responsible for the words and actions of their viewers and participants in their channel’s chat rooms.
In addition to words banned by Twitch, streamers can create a custom list of words they want to ban to apply to their own channel.
For whatever reason, streamers may not want to see certain content or speech in their chat or elsewhere from their viewers. Fortunately, streamers have the option to make their own list of banned words for their individual channels. To do so, users need to turn on AutoMod under the Moderation tab in the platform’s settings. They can then enter in a list of words they don’t want to see, and the automated Twitch moderator will filter out any messages containing them, effectively banning those words.
Creators have a lot of control over their channels, from rewarding viewers with channel points to having access to Twitch rewind. What they ultimately can’t do, however, is themselves use, or allow their audience to use, any of the many types of banned words on Twitch.
Featured image credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto
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