Twitch CEO drama may have forced Twitch to clarify its own rules
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy is facing a fresh round of backlash, and the outrage may have led to the platform clarifying its existing rules for streamers and users alike.
Dan Clancy is a prominent name in the streaming industry, as he’s the CEO of one of the most popular livestreaming platforms in the world. The CEO is in the news frequently, and more often than not, it’s for something controversial. Clancy has gone viral for everything from allegedly discriminating against vtubers to being accused of catering to streamers who create adult content.
In July, the Twitch CEO was at the source of drama yet again as Clancy promoted his own charity stream in other streamers’ chat and soon received criticism from streamers and viewers alike. Despite the self-proclaimed “shameless” promotion, Twitch has supported him. Instead of accepting that the CEO made a mistake, the platform has clarified its rules so that Clancy’s actions appear to be better in line with its guidelines.
How Twitch CEO Dan Clancy caused rules drama
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy sparked controversy and fresh drama when he shared the link to his charity livestream in other streamers’ chats, asking them to raid his stream.
Clancy was called out by multiple streamers and viewers when he began spamming chats with his message. Many claimed that the Twitch CEO was wrongfully using his position to spam his stream promotion and ruin users’ experiences. Twitch has rules in place that prohibit spamming as the platform strives to ensure a positive user experience, and Clancy’s actions caused him to be blocked from at least one stream, left unable to continue chatting.
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While the Twitch CEO’s livestream was for a noble cause, his actions were considered by some to be disrespectful. This sort of promotion is sometimes frowned upon on Twitch, and spamming different channels while promoting oneself goes against an unwritten rule of the platform for many users.
On July 22, Twitch may well have reacted directly to the CEO’s actions, but not in the way many were expecting. The Twitch Support X account posted clarification of its Spam Enforcement Note and Simulcasting FAQ. The tweet specifies that everyone is free to post links on their own personal social media accounts, but not everything is allowed on Twitch chat. It further clarified that Twitch chat can’t be used to “redirect viewers to livestreams happening someplace else.”
The rules apparently prohibit multistreaming streamers from redirecting their viewers to another platform, such as Kick or YouTube. The clarification is vague, and many viewers are questioning what’s allowed and what’s not on the platform. But Twitch’s CEO’s actions seem to be explicitly allowed, as links to other channels on Twitch would be considered to be on the same platform and thus not in violation of its rules.
Twitch hasn’t spoken to any specific link between the rules update and Clancy’s actions going viral, but for many critics of the platform, the timing is a little too convenient.
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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