Twitch is reinstating former president Donald Trump’s account ahead of the 2024 presidential election after “indefinitely” banning it back in 2021. The Amazon-owned company told TechCrunch on Friday that it reinstated Trump’s channel because it believes “there is value in hearing from presidential nominees directly, when possible.”
Prior to the ban, Trump’s team used his channel to broadcast some of his campaigns. With the ban now lifted, his channel can resume doing so.
Twitch, alongside many other tech companies, placed a ban on Trump’s account following the January 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol. Other companies that did so included Twitter (now X), Facebook and YouTube.
The change comes a few days after Meta announced that Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will no longer be subject to heightened suspension penalties. Meta’s reason for its decision was somewhat similar to Twitch’s: The company said it thinks all presidential nominees should have an equal footing on their platform ahead of the election.
It’s worth noting that YouTube reinstated Trump’s account last year and X did so in 2022 under new leadership from Elon Musk.
Although Twitch is lifting the ban, the company told TechCrunch that Trump’s account will be subject to its Community Guidelines.
“We continue to enforce our Community Guidelines and take necessary enforcement action when we identify violations of our rules,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Twitch doesn’t have a ‘public figure policy,’ meaning all channels are equally subject to our guidelines, regardless of whether the channel belongs to a public figure.”
Prior to the indefinite ban in 2021, Trump’s Twitch account was temporarily suspended in 2020 for broadcasting hateful content.
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