Summary
On her birthday, popular VTuber Fallenshadow with over 149K followers, faced an unexpected setback whenTwitchissued a ban, citing “pretending/imagery of sexual youth” as the reason. This decision by Amazon-owned streaming platformTwitchhas drawn criticism from both the streamer and her fan base, who argue that her content did not warrant such a response.
Despite its position as the leading streaming platform, Twitch often faces criticism for its inconsistent ban enforcement. While some bans are considered justified and align with community standards, others seem arbitrary or poorly explained, causing frustration among streamers and viewers. A recent example occurred on May 26, whenTwitch streamer AnimalisaKeys received an indefinite suspensionfor “spamming violative video content.” On social media, she expressed confusion, as her content was limited to piano playing and did not appear to violate any guidelines. The situation even left Twitch’s CEO perplexed, highlighting ongoing concerns about the platform’s moderation practices.
Recently, VTuber Fallenshadow, renowned for her Just Chatting streams, received a 7-day Twitch ban on July 23, coinciding with her birthday. Before the ban, she had announced her intention to stream, but instead, she was notified via email that she was suspended. The email cited “pretending/imagery of sexual youth” related to her VTuber avatar as the reason for the ban. Fallenshadow shared the email screenshot on Twitter, expressing frustration and demanding clarification from Twitch Support, asserting that her channel is not sexual in nature.
Twitch Faces Criticism Over Fallenshadow Ban
Her fans largely rallied to her defense. Some urgedTwitch to have a human reviewthe situation, emphasizing that Fallenshadow’s content is not sexual and she is an adult. Others expressed frustration at the timing of the ban, especially on her birthday, and called for a swift resolution to what they believe is an error.
It remains uncertain whether Twitch will lift Fallenshadow’s ban before the full seven days. It’s also worth noting that severaltop streamers on Twitch have experienced multiple temporary bans, including Amouranth, who has recieved ten in total, each lasting from a few hours to a few days.
This incident is not the only one involving VTubers that has led to criticism of Twitch. Last year,Twitch faced backlash for banning VTuber Snuffyover a “suggestive” outfit. Her fans argued that Twitch’s enforcement of its community guidelines was inconsistent and that similar offenses by other streamers had not resulted in bans. These cases highlight ongoing concerns about Twitch’s ban policies and their implementation.
