Twitch tweeted out on 11/30/2021 that they have added a new tool for their broadcasters and moderators, called Suspicious User Detection. What this tool does is detect possible chat level ban evasions, by flagging accounts as “Likely” or “Possible” evaders.
- Likely ban evaders will not be able to post to chat without the creator or mod reviewing the user, this is similar to the way Auto-Mod handles banned or restricted words. Creators or mods have the ability to ban the user, monitor the user, or leave the restriction as is.
- Possible ban evaders will be able to chat normally, but will be flagged for the creator and mods to more easily monitor the user and ban as needed.
These flags can also be tweaked in the creator dashboard, under the moderation tab, and has been turned on by default for all creators on the platform. You also have the ability to add users manually via the users Viewer Card or through the new Suspicious Users widget in mod view. Twitch has stated that there will be possibilities for false positives and negatives, especially around launch, that all content creators and mods should be aware of. These features, as well as the Phone Verification Tool released at the end of September 2021, is in response to the hate raid scandal that plagued Twitch earlier this year. Twitch has even gone so far as to sue two of their users, per the report of techcrunch.com, over the scandal earlier this year.
This is a step in the right direction for Twitch for the security of everyone that participates on the platform, as well as the industry as a whole, by creating new technology that creates a user friendly, safe environment. If you are interested in reading the full Twitch blog on the new Suspicious User Detection tool, you can do so here: Suspicious User Detection tool.
I look forward to seeing what great new technology Twitch as well as other platforms brings to the table in the future!
