Twitch has reactivated former President Donald Trump’s account, which was suspended indefinitely following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This development comes after Trump was officially announced as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. Twitch made this decision so that presidential candidates can reach their voters directly.
“We have reinstated former President Trump’s Twitch channel,” a Twitch spokesperson said in a statement, asking not to be identified due to security concerns. “We believe it is important for presidential candidates to be able to express their views directly. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for president of the United States.”
Twitch’s community rules and practices
Twitch emphasized that it has strict community guidelines that apply to all users on the platform, and that these guidelines apply equally to everyone. “We continue to rigorously enforce our Community Guidelines and take appropriate action when there are violations of our guidelines,” the spokesperson said. “Twitch has no ‘public figure’ policy. Therefore, all channels are subject to the same guidelines, even if they are owned by a public figure.”
In 2021, Twitch disabled Trump’s channel the day after the attack on Congress and banned it indefinitely on January 20. “We made this decision due to the risk of inciting further violence,” it said in a statement at the time.
Trump’s social media accounts have been frequently scrutinized and in some cases restricted by various platforms, particularly due to his political messages. Earlier this week, Meta lifted the restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending the restrictions on those accounts, which were reactivated in January 2023.
Twitch’s reinstatement of Trump’s account is seen as part of the platform’s policy of allowing presidential candidates to directly voice their views, but it could spark significant debate about how social media platforms handle political content and how they monitor that content’s compliance with the platform’s rules.
Twitch says it will continue to monitor content on the platform for compliance with its community guidelines. Although Trump’s account has been reactivated, it is stated that any violations of the platform’s rules will be subject to necessary sanctions.
The reactivation of Trump’s social media accounts could trigger a variety of reactions among his supporters and opponents. How such decisions by social media platforms affect users and the public opinion will continue to be discussed in the coming period. Such developments will continue to keep discussions on the role of social media in political communication and how the rules of these platforms should be implemented on the agenda.