Online streaming platform Twitch said on Sunday that it “regrets the unacceptable miss” that has prevented users from “Israel and Palestine” from signing up to the service.
This message from Twitch, which is owned by the Seattle-based Amazon retail and technology giant, followed reports in the Israeli media and in technology news sites that users from Israel had been effectively blocked from creating accounts, getting an error message when they tried to verify their email addresses.
“Following the October 7, 2023 attacks, we temporarily disabled sign-ups with email verification in Israel and Palestine. We did this to prevent uploads of graphic material related to the attack and to protect the safety of users,” Twitch wrote. “We deeply regret this unacceptable miss, and the confusion it has caused. We’ve fixed the issue, meaning all affected users can sign up with email verification.”
JNS was able to set up a new Twitch account on Monday without issue from Israel with email verification.
The incident comes amid recent criticism regarding Twitch’s enforcement of its terms of use, which critics said displayed an anti-Israel bias.
“I am going to say it, Dan Clancy the CEO [of Twitch], I think he hates Jewish people,” Ethan Kelin, a prominent podcaster, said on Oct. 19 on his H3 podcast. He was referencing the unbanning on Twitch of two channels, Sneako and Fresh and Fit, that had been suspended for uploading antisemitic content in connection with Israel’s conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
Meanwhile, a popular streamer who has been critical of Palestinian culture in the channel, Asmongold, was banned from the Twitch platform last week.
In its statement, Twitch acknowledged claims of selective enforcement but did not explain its actions.
“We’ve also heard concerns about whether our Community Guidelines apply to all content on our service. We continue to enforce our rules as consistently as possible, and are actively reviewing content and taking enforcement action where needed,” the statement read.
