To say that Twitch is experiencing difficulties would be a major understatement. Twitch has been involved in numerous controversies, including prohibiting gambling from its platform and dealing with problematic streamers. Although the most alarming event to date about the platform may be the most recent report of child abuse. Tom Verrilli, the product chief at Twitch, responded to the results by saying that “even one single case of grooming is abhorrent” and that, if the data in the research is accurate, Twitch isn’t providing the degree of security it wants to, calling it “deeply upsetting.” Verrilli goes on to say that the platform does not currently let users under the age of 13 and that it aggressively works to prevent children from being harmed by Twitch. Verrilli further notes that in order to “avoid any users who may be under 13 from accessing Twitch,” Twitch “made considerable investments over the last two years to better keep ahead of criminal actors.” The report also states that Twitch’s law enforcement response team, which collaborates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Tech Coalition, an industry-wide alliance actively combating online child molestation, has quadrupled since the start of its research in 2020. The child predator report, however, raises concerns that Twitch’s current moderation tools and procedures might not be adequate. Twitch is already mired in a number of disputes. From emerging gambling streams to child abuse reports it will be interesting to see how Twitch officials cope up with such problems as it would require extensive changes. Source: Bloomberg
