Twitch “do not ban” list surfaces, reportedly confirms preferential treatment of popular streamers

Recently, Twitch suffered a huge data leak which included a range of critical information such as source codes and monthly payouts.

While the monthly payouts in particular were the most publicized aspect of the overall leak, several other pieces of information were also leaked online. This includes a “do not ban” list for creators whose channels were flagged to let staff members know that instead of suspending them, the issue must be raised with a specific Twitch employee for review.

Various smaller creators and members of the Twitch audience have long complained that the platform has favored bigger, partnered streamers. The leaked “do not ban” list appears to have confirmed these theories, although it has been reported that the list is no longer in use.

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Twitch’s “do not ban” list shows history of favouritism for bigger creators

The claim of preferential treatment being handed out by Twitch to its most popular streamers has been a long-standing debate in the community. The leaked list is reportedly no longer active and included a range of popular streamers such as Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, Bryan “RiceGum” Le, Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar and Hassan Bokhari.

As the list is an outdated one which is no longer in use, it does not include some other top content creators such as Felix “xQc” Lengyel, Imane “Pokimane” Anys or Thomas “Sykkuno.” Among them, xQc and Pokimane in particular have often been said to have gotten away with infringements that have otherwise led to longer suspensions.

The leaked list (Image via u/Rapogi, Reddit)

Hence, while the leaked list might not be in use currently, it effectively proves the existence of favoritism that Twitch employs with respect to its most popular creators. Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, for example, is a controversial, politically charged streamer who had made offensive comments about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in August 2019, claiming that America deserved the attack.

The news was covered by Fox News as HasanAbi had also insulted a US veteran. The community had called out the platform when HasanAbi was suspended for only seven days despite the offensive nature of his overall comments. Similar arguments have been made with respect to Pokimane and xQc in recent years as well.

xQc in particular was only suspended for a few hours when he broadcasted a live Tokyo 2021 Olympics event on his Twitch channel. Similar infringements from other smaller streamers had led to suspensions that lasted at least a couple of days. This most notably includes the “RunTheFUTMarket” Twitch channel that was also guilty of streaming a Tokyo Olympics event. Hence, the leaked list in a nutshell appears to be proof that Twitch indeed follows a policy of favoritism to better protect its most popular content creators.

Disclaimer - This article is subjective and reflects the views of its author.