Streaming platform Twitch “deeply regrets” blocking account sign-ups in Israel and Palestine and claims it to have been an “unacceptable miss.”
On October 20, 2024, Twitch Support issued a post on X (formerly Twitter) that apologized for “inadvertently” blocking Israeli and Palestinian users from creating new accounts on the platform.
The platform first wrote that it wanted to “address concerns” cropping up online regarding whether or not it is “preventing Twitch account sign-ups in some regions.”
Furthermore, they then revealed that following the October 7, 2023, attacks, Twitch “temporarily disabled sign-ups” in Israel and Palestine to “prevent uploads of graphic material related to the attack and to protect the safety of users.”
They reiterated that signups were not completely “disabled” and noted that users in these regions could still create new accounts using phone verification.
However, they added that they “inadvertently” never re-enabled email verification in either region, which they called an “unacceptable miss” that they “deeply regret.”
Twitch later confirmed in the same post that they have “fixed the issue, meaning all affected users can sign up with email verification” while addressing online concerns about the consistency in their Community Guidelines.
“We continue to enforce our rules as consistently as possible, actively review content and take enforcement action where needed.”
This post from Twitch was posted just hours after political streamer Destiny alleged on his podcast that Twitch had blocked Israelis and Palestinians from making new accounts on the platform.
Following Twitch’s announcement, users across the internet criticized the company for claiming it took them “a year to identify this problem.” Others have called this message from the streaming platform “weak and pathetic.”
This also came off the back of Asmongold being hit with a 14-day ban on Twitch following “racist” comments he made during a stream.
Furthermore, the community called on the platform to take action against other notable streamers, such as Frogan, for comments he posted on X regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
At the time of writing, Twitch has yet to issue any other comments regarding re-enabling sign-ups in these regions. However, we’ll be sure to update this article if they do.