Are Kick ban rules changing how bans work on Twitch?

Kick management is claiming that Twitch’s ban system and rules updates are due to competition with its rival streaming platform. But is there any truth to this?

In early February, Twitch announced changes to how it would be handling streamer bans going forward. Over the years, Twitch’s inconsistent punishment has been a huge discussion point in the streaming community, with many feeling as though some favorites of the platform were getting away with too much while others on the platform were being unfairly censored. The lack of transparency added an extra layer of frustration for those affected.

On February 19, Twitch announced some big changes.

Twitch violations can expire but are now more severe

A tweet outlined some big changes coming to Twitch’s enforcement system, meant to offer more transparency and support larger streamers.

“Our goal is to make it easier for you to track your violation history and know where your channel stands,” Twitch wrote, “reduce the risk that streamers lose their communities and livelihoods for low severity violations, and at the same time, encourage positive and healthy online interactions.”

To do so, Twitch made violations expire after a certain amount of time, taking them off of accounts entirely. Violations of greater severity will take longer to expire, and the most severe violations will never expire. While this made it easier for violations to stop adding up, Twitch wanted to ensure that streamers breaking the rules in quick succession were still punished by adding escalating consequences for repeated violations.

“By increasing the severity of the penalty, we ensure that people understand the importance of adhering to our Community Guidelines without needing to resort to an indefinite suspension,” Twitch explained.

Twitch also promised that more details on violations would be coming soon in the form of screenshots and clips, making it absolutely clear what led to the violation.

Kick claims Twitch violation changes are due to its streaming rival

After Twitch revealed the revamped enforcement system, Kick took to X to claim this was done to compete with their own system. Head of strategic partnerships Andrew Santamaria said that Kick’s mod system “forced platforms to adapt yet again” in a tweet that followed Twitch’s update.

“Kick warnings are sent to verified users before a ban. The email warning includes recordings, images, and an explanation of the violation. Warnings are not sent for extreme cases that require immediate action,” Santamaria said.

Kick also boasted that its mod system is even stricter than Twitch’s, impacting all users and not just those that are verified. This is an interesting change from when Kick first arrived on the scene, attempting to steal streamers from Twitch by promising looser restrictions on adult content and gambling content, for example.

Since Kick launched, some of its larger streamers such as Felix “xQc” Lengyel have called on the platform to not allow some types of content. This included viral incidents like a streamer pushing a woman that couldn’t swim into a body of water, and content creators driving recklessly. In response, Kick has started to crack down on dangerous content, including suspending Jack Doherty for crashing his McLaren while using his phone.

Twitch has not responded to Kick’s claims, but the streaming community has a lot of questions as a result. Some have brought up concerns that Twitch unfairly targets vtubers when it comes to censorship while others have demanded Twitch stop banning users over something they do in a game.

Right now, Twitch has 7.7 million active users while Kick has far fewer. There’s no way of knowing whether Kick’s changes have inspired Twitch to follow suit in order to maintain its lead in the industry, but it is at least possible.