Twitch has reversed the three-year ban on former President Donald Trump’s account, allowing him to use the platform once again. In a statement, Twitch confirmed the decision, noting the importance of allowing presidential nominees to communicate directly with the public. Trump, currently the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, can now resume using Twitch.
Trump’s Twitch account was initially suspended in 2020 for violating the platform’s hateful conduct and harassment policies. Although this suspension was temporarily lifted, Twitch indefinitely banned Trump’s account following the January 6th Capitol riot in 2021. The platform cited the extraordinary circumstances and Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric as reasons for the ban.
Twitch Lifts Three-Year Ban on Donald Trump, Allowing Former President to Resume Using Platform
The January 6th incident resulted in significant violence, with four deaths and 174 police officers injured. Additionally, three officers involved in the riot died in the subsequent days and weeks. This context underscores the severity of the situation that led to the original ban.
Twitch is not the first platform to lift restrictions on Trump’s accounts; Meta recently reinstated his Facebook and Instagram accounts. These moves indicate a broader trend of social media platforms reconsidering their bans on Trump as he campaigns for the presidency again.
Trump initially joined Twitch in 2019 to stream his campaign events. Since then, politics has gained a substantial presence on Twitch, with live broadcasts of significant political events, debates, and commentary from various political perspectives becoming commonplace on the platform.
