Black Twitch streamers pen open letter asking platform to add more protections

Following a recent surge of hate raids, Black streamers and leaders of the #TwitchDoBetter movement have penned an open letter to Twitch CEO Emmett Shear along with the senior leadership team in hopes of establishing new lines of communication to ensure the platform is “less hostile.”

While hate raids on Twitch have reached “unprecedented” levels in recent weeks,  targeting Black and LGBTQ+ streamers primarily, harassment issues on the streaming platform have been prevalent for many years.

Despite the latest comments from Twitch, claiming “hate has no place” within the purple brand, Black creators have unified as part of the #TwitchDoBetter movement to call out recent actions and demand further change.

With Black History Month seeing a spike in hate raids on the platform, creators are demanding not only more transparency from Twitch staff, but for year-round initiatives to support marginalized communities.

In response to recent activations during Black History Month, including a ‘Black Brilliance Recommended Section’ on the homepage, along with an ‘Unapologetically Black and Fast’ speedrunning broadcast, the open letter claims these are nothing more than “performative.”

“At a time when Black streamers continue to be harassed by racist users and left unprotected from online hate, these short-term, Black History Month initiatives are sorely inadequate,” the statement read.

“The celebration of Black brilliance and Black joy should not be limited to February.”

The group was left unsatisfied by Twitch’s “nebulous statement” on March 12 in light of recent hate raids. Now, they’re aiming to connect Twitch staff with impacted Black creators in new ways.

First, the open letter called for “easily accessible and well-communicated incident feedback loops.” Each step of the process following online harassment reports should come with “printable histories and timestamps, review status, and steps for resolution,” the group explained.

Another demand targeted moderation on Twitch, specifically for Black creators being harassed while featured on the home page.

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The full list of creator demands can be found here, though Twitch has “not offered a timeline” for when they’ll be addressed, “if at all.”

“Twitch has shown repeatedly that it is not willing to be transparent and cares more deeply about its public image than the safety of Black streamers,” the statement added.

“Twitch should explore ways to boost the discoverability of Black streamers every day, provide support to Black creators featured on the Front Page every time, and ensure that Black creators feel safe doing what we love.”

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You can support the #TwitchDoBetter movement and the aforementioned demands by backing the open letter.