Twitch has removed the TwitchCop emote, which showed a cartoon character dressed in a police uniform blowing a whistle with the streaming platform stating that it did so “to prevent misuse”, according to The Verge’s James Vincent.
The emote was likely removed due to the ongoing protests against widespread racism and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement in Minnesota. The emote wasn’t as well-known as other emotes, but Twitch likely saw the potential abuse of the emote, which prompted the removal.
“We made the decision to proactively pull down the TwitchCop emote to prevent misuse” a spokesperson for Twitch told The Verge. “We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure we are addressing emerging behaviors and language on our platform.”
