Twitch Apologizes for Account Sign Up Issue in Israel Palestine

Twitch Apologizes for Account Sign Up Issue in Israel and Palestine

Twitch has issued an apology for preventing new account sign-ups from Israel and Palestine due to the ongoing conflict. The streaming platform explained that sign-ups with email verification were temporarily disabled following the attacks on 7th October 2023 to prevent uploads of graphic material related to the attack and to protect the safety of users.

Temporary Disable of Email Verification

However, until recently, this verification had not been re-enabled. The statement continued: We deeply regret this unacceptable miss, and the confusion it has caused. We’ve fixed the issue, meaning all affected users can sign up with email verification.

Users Respond to the Statement

Users have responded to the statement suggesting phone verification was also blocked and not just email verification, somewhat undermining the sentiment. Twitch’s protective measures here are perhaps unsurprising, given the rise of livestreamed violent attacks in recent years.

Transparency and Community Guidelines

Twitch’s policies have come under fire following racist and anti-semitic comments from high-profile streamer Asmongold. While he was rightly banned from the platform for breaking its terms of use, some have called the consistency of Twitch’s policies into question. Twitch’s statement continued: We continue to enforce our rules as consistently as possible, and are actively reviewing content and taking enforcement action where needed.

Twitch’s Commitment to Safety and Transparency

Safety and transparency were major topics when staff at TwitchCon Europe discussed the importance of finding community. Twitch has been working towards greater transparency with its community for some time. The streaming platform’s commitment to safety and transparency is evident in its recent actions, and it will be interesting to see how the platform continues to evolve in the future.