Ryan Higa – an American social media influencer – was unexpectedly banned on Twitch due to alleged “hateful conduct’. Higa was in the middle of a live stream – where he was playing the popular video game Among Us alongside streamers such as Valkyrae and Disguised Toast when the incident occured on March 25.
He shared the news to his fellow gamers via Discord which resulted in multiple streamers such as Valkyrae and their fans alerting Twitch to unban Higa:
UNBAN RYAN HIGA RIGHT NOW @Twitch !!!!!
— rae (@Valkyrae) March 25, 2021
Twitch then proceeded to unban Higa’s channel within few minutes of initation – claiming it was a mistake. Higa later thanked his fans for their support.
Appreciate all the homies getting twitch's attention.. I'm unbanned! They sent me an email saying it was mistake on their end. So everything's all good now! Thank you guys <3
— Ryan Higa (@TheRealRyanHiga) March 26, 2021
Higa shared his feelings on the matter and highlighted how his popularity was the main factor in getting support from other streamers and their fans – who helped spur Twitch into fast action; he noted that smaller streamers are at risk of receiving unwarranted bans – and they might not have the same resources and audience size to get the ban reversed by the platform.
Twitch’s error may cause small streamers to be wary about joining the platform and monetizing their content: streamers are able to earn an income through the help of their fans subscriptions and donations but sudden and unwarranted bans could greatly affect both their careers and livelihoods.