Twitch has suspended 7.5 million bot accounts on April 14 – citing that they go against their Terms of Service by inorganically increasing the number of followers and views on a streamer’s channel, which is misleading to Twitch users.
We have been monitoring the rise of fake engagement on Twitch and have identified 7.5MM+ accounts that break our TOS by follow-botting and view-botting. We are taking action on these accounts and appreciate all of the reports about this issue.
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) April 14, 2021
Moreover, Twitch stated that fake bot accounts result in “artificial inflation of channel statistics, such as views or follows, through coordination or 3rd party tools” and have since cracked down on these accounts through the use of machine learning technology. Furthermore, Twitch will continue to pursue legal action against severe cases of bot activity. For example, in 2018, Twitch pressed charges against two viewbot sellers on the platform – who were ultimately found guilty and were court ordered to pay $1.3 million to Twitch.
A majority of these accounts were detected through ongoing machine learning technology that will continue to improve and we will continue to operate going forward. We engage in enforcement when necessary including pursuing legal action.
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) April 14, 2021
Twitch warned streamers that the recent suspension of bot accounts may result in a sudden decrease in the number of followers on their accounts – with many top streamers reportedly losing tons of followers: for example, Félix ‘xQc’ Lengyel and Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris lost 2.2 million and 2.8 million followers respectively.
As a result of these removals, you may see sudden decreases in your follower and viewer count over the coming days. If you believe that you were follow- or view-botted, please check out our help article. https://t.co/R82r7NA90A
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) April 14, 2021
Twitch’s stringent campaign against bots not only ensures a safer environment for users but
also a safer one for streamers – who often fall prey to online bots that spam their chats, which leads to the streamer’s channel getting reported for breaching Twitch’s Terms of Service.