While it has long held a position as a premier live-streaming community, Twitch appears to be collapsing under the weight of multiple recent controversies. The platform was born back in 2007 as Justin.tv, which creator Justin Kan used to host a 24/7 stream of his entire life. Eventually the service was rebranded as a game streaming service, but it has slowly shed that identity to instead host a massive range of livestream content. Twitch is currently home to a large community of high-profile content creators, including Fortnite legend Richard "Ninja" Blevins and Leagues of Legends icon Imane "Pokimane" Anys. On Twitch, streamers have weathered death threats, stalkers, and other harrassment, but now an onslaught of brand-new problems seems to risk demolishing the platform completely.

The following article contains sensitive content, including discussion of child predation.

While Twitch is intended for use by video game streamers, millions of daily viewers can experience a wide range of non-gaming content too. Some of this content has led to backlash in the past, either due to its mature nature or its violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. One of Twitch's most notable controversies surrounding non-gaming content came in 2021, when "hot tub streamers" were criticized for their choice of clothing, which many deemed too sexually suggestive for the platform. Another controversial trend saw users stream copyrighted media directly to their followers, which led to a DMCA copyright strike and Twitch ban for Pokimane and others in January 2022.

Related: Every Big Streamer Who's Left Twitch (So Far)

Unexpected streamer behavior has led to some prominent Twitch disputes, but the platform itself has also made some questionable decisions in recent years. For example, in October 2021 Twitch began testing a highly controversial view-boosting system that divided the live-streaming service's community. This new system allowed small streamers to directly pay for increased visibility, helping them to compete with larger channels for a monetary price. While some saw this as a good way for new users to gain a following, others saw it as a way for Twitch to profit off of already struggling channels. Back in April, it was announced that Twitch's paid boost feature would be disabled indefinitely, but this act did nothing to stop the flood of controversies that now threatens the platform.

Gambling Is Twitch's Most Widely Recognized Controversy

Twitch's most widely recognized controversy is currently gambling across the platform.

Issues surrounding the promotion of gambling content seems to be the most prevalent cause for Twitch's recent downfall. Top streamers like Pokimane and Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo recently threatened to lead a strike against Twitch following reports that a fellow streamer had scammed viewers to fuel a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cosmetic gambling addiction. Streamer Abraham "Sliker" Mohammed apparently borrowed over $200,000 under false pretenses before spending it all on gambling, and many of the most popular Twitch streamers, whether leaving or staying, feel that the platform should take some responsibility for the situation.

While a recent Twitch Twitter post addressed the issue and promised to ban luck-based gambling beginning October 18, streamer Devin Nash countered with a tweet claiming these measures aren't enough. The content creator explains that Twitch is merely banning certain websites that are unlicensed in the United States, meaning that sponsored gambling content will still be able to thrive on the live-streaming platform.

Many users now consider Twitch to be a gateway to addiction for streamers and viewers who are knowingly exposed to gambling content. Devin Nash is apparently unwilling to return to the service until Twitch updates its guidelines and implements stricter moderation against gambling, which is entirely dependent upon the upcoming October 18 update.

Child Predation Is Disturbingly Common on Twitch

Twitch's young audience is often targeted by predators.

Child predation is another serious concern with Twitch as a platform. A Bloomberg report written by Cecilia D'Anastasio (who elaborated on the story via Twitter) recently stated that many child predators are using the live-stream platform to systematically find and follow children and pre-teens. According to the report, an analysis conducted between October 2020 and August 2022 reveals that at least 1,976 users used Twitch to follow young people during the period, with these accounts existing solely to manipulate children into performing suggestive or outright sexual acts on stream.

Twitch's greatest strength is the ease with which users can create an account and immediately begin livestreaming, but this has also resulted in a potentially dangerous - and easily accessible - platform for predators. A Twitch spokesperson told Bloomberg that protecting children is a top priority, with the Twitch ban of ZeRo for sexual misconduct with a minor in 2020 demonstrating the success of a response team that investigates predators and reports them to the authorities.

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However, Twitch's moderation tools seem woefully ill-equipped to stop predators from finding children in the first place. Competing live-stream services like YouTube and TikTok prevent users from streaming until they have a certain number of followers, which helps keeps inexperienced users out of trouble, but instantaneous access to streaming on Twitch unfortunately leaves minors vulnerable.

Twitch's New Revenue Split Could Push Streamers Away

Twitch's new revenue split feature may turn away some of its most prolific content creators.

Gambling and child predation on Twitch are major causes for alarm, and a brand-new revenue split system risks fracturing the platform's community as well. A recent Twitch blog post, written by company president Dan Clancy, outlines upcoming changes to the agreement terms of larger streamers that will help Twitch reach revenue goals moving forward. Beginning June 1, 2023, top streamers will split the first $100,000 they make from subscriptions 70/30 with Twitch, with streamers receiving the lion's share, but any revenue in excess of $100,000 will instead be split 50/50. Streamers, like Liquid Mendo and Big E, have predictably responded very negatively to the announcement.

While revenue split changes will only affect approximately 10% of Twitch streamers, they do risk destroying the sense of community that Twitch tries hard to cultivate. The 50/50 revenue split will earn streamers less than they would on competing platforms, with YouTube giving streamers 70% of the revenue, while Facebook Gaming's Josh points out that Facebook doesn't take any of a streamer's profits. These streaming services even have better bitrate ranges than Twitch, with ranges between 4,500-9,000 Kbps at 1080p and 60fps, which could also draw streamers away from Twitch and its 6000 Kbps.

TwitchCon 2022 Drama Breaks Apart The Community

TwitchCon 2021

Despite Twitch's consistent emphasis on community, recent TwitchCon announcements and changes risk tearing apart the platform's user base. The TwitchCon convention has been held annually since 2015, with streamers and viewers gathering together to celebrate the brand and strengthen its community.

Related: Why DrLupo And TimTheTatman Are Leaving Twitch

Twitch initially announced that TwitchCon 2022, which will be held in San Diego between October 7 and 9, would not require guests to wear masks or be vaccinated. However, community backlash has made Twitch change its stance, and now masks and vaccines will be required for all guests at the event.

Unfortunately, this has only served to divide the Twitch community further. Nicholas "Nickmercs" Kolcheff, a top twitch streamer and co-owner of esports organization FazeClan, will host his own event in San Diego on the same days as TwitchCon. Nickmercs' event, called MFAM Central, will not require masks or vaccines from attendees. Nickmercs is a flagship Twitch streamer, so his rival event will undoubtedly go some way toward undermining Twitch and dividing the streaming community further.

OTK Controversy Adds To Twitch's Woes

Twitch streamer Mizkif

Adding more fuel to the Twitch wildfire, gaming organization OTK recently announced that streamer Matthew "Mizkif" Rinaudo has been suspended from the organization following an alleged sexual assault coverup. Rinaudo, a founding member and co-owner of One True King, is well-known for streaming titles like Pokémon and Mario Kart. In June 2021, fellow Twitch streamer Adrianah Lee spoke out about an alleged sexual assault by streamer CrazySlick at a party in 2020. Now Lee has elaborated on the past accusations against the Twitch streamer, claiming that Mizkif forced her to downplay the situation to prevent conflict with CrazySlick. Mizkif has been placed on leave from OTK, marking a fifth controversy for Twitch.

Twitch has been the subject of at least five controversies this year, turning the once beloved live-streaming service into a shadow of its former self. An uneven revenue split and streamer sexual assault allegations threaten to bring down the platform's top creators, which could also drive viewers to rival services like Facebook and YouTube. Dire issues like gambling promotion and child predation are cause for even further concern, and only time will tell whether Twitch can pick up the pieces after such a devastating combination of controversies.

Sources: Mizkif/Twitch, Twitch/Twitter, Devin Nash/Twitter, Bloomberg, Cecilia D'Anastasio/Twitter, Twitch, Liquid Mendo/Twitter, Big E/Twitter, Twitch/Twitter, FaZE Nickmercs/Twitter, OTK/Twitter, Adrianah Lee/Twitter