Twitch is overhauling its suspensions policy

Twitch announced on Tuesday that it’s revamping its suspensions policy to shift away from its previous all-or-nothing penalty system. Until now, a temporary suspension on Twitch meant losing access to the platform altogether, including the ability to chat, watch streams while logged in, and access basic information. Now, the company is implementing two suspension types: streaming suspensions and chatting suspensions.

The company notes that while its previous approach was easier to implement, its new targeted enforcement system means that the restrictions will match the specific offense committed.

If a user violates Twitch’s Community Guidelines during a livestream, their account will be suspended from going live, and chat on their channel will be temporarily disabled. During a streaming suspension, the user can still watch streams while logged in, chat on other channels, and access their user dashboard. Plus, viewers will still be able to watch their existing clips and videos.

Similarly, if someone violates the company’s Community Guidelines in chat, they will receive a suspension from chat but will still be able to stream their own content or watch other streamers. Notably, users who receive a chat suspension can still chat in their own channel, but they will be prevented from participating in chats on other streams.

“Higher severity violations present a greater risk to our community, therefore they will receive both chatting and streaming suspensions simultaneously to prevent further harm,” Twitch explained in a blog post. “And, as is the case today, those who commit the most serious violations will receive an indefinite suspension and lose all access to Twitch. There is no place for serious violations on Twitch.”

Twitch isn’t changing the length of temporary suspensions, as streaming and chatting suspensions will last anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days.

The company says that with each new violation, the length of the suspension will increase, and that accumulating multiple temporary suspensions can still lead to an indefinite suspension from Twitch.

Twitch determines the severity of a violation by considering the extent of harm it causes or has the potential to cause. It defines harm as any action that leads to physical, emotional, social, or financial damage to a user or to Twitch.

The company is working on additional suspension types that will roll out in future updates.