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    • Israeli IP addresses were banned from reporting to Twitch for a year
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    Israeli IP addresses were banned from reporting to Twitch for a year

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Twitch, the Amazon-owned live video streaming platform, resumed signups from Israel on Monday after reports that the platform had blocked access from Israeli IP addresses for over a year.

    This came after several people reported that they were unable to log into Twitch due to their Israeli IP being blocked.

    Twitch Support released a statement on .

    Twitch added that it had “accidentally” forgotten to re-enable email sign-ups, calling it an “unacceptable mistake.”

    According to the platform, the ban was originally intended to prevent the uploading of “graphic material related to the attack and protect the safety of users.”

    Twitch noted that while email verification was disabled, phone verification was never disabled at any time.

    However, a Twitter account added context to the Twitch statement and contradicted the statement that phone sign-ups were possible.

    “The ban was based on IP addresses, not email addresses (which in most cases cannot be geolocated based on address alone). Registration was not possible even when using a telephone number.”

    Commenters on Reddit also expressed doubts about Twitch's reasoning; One user wrote that if Twitch wanted to block violent content, it could do so by preventing streaming, not by banning user registrations.

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    Criticisms of Twitch's statement

    Social media users took to the comment sections to express their frustration with the ban and the response from Twitch itself. Some wrote that Israelis had been contacting Twitch support for over a year and were “immediately rejected and their tickets closed.”

    One posted a screenshot of an email response from Twitch Support that said they had “thoroughly” reviewed the user's case and determined that they were “ineligible to create a Twitch account.” Case closed.

    Many expressed disbelief that the platform had forgotten to re-enable logins for over a year, describing this as “deliberate.”

    Others questioned why the ban only applied to one region and not to the war in Russia and Ukraine or other regional conflicts.

    In May 2024, a Twitch user named Forceee wrote on Twitter that many of his viewers were unable to log in to watch after he switched from YouTube.

    “I have been streaming for three years and transferred my viewers from YouTube to Twitch two years ago,” he wrote.

    “I found out about a month ago that A LOT of my long-time viewers couldn't log into Twitch because they're based in Israel, which is crazy.”

    Streamer Sneako (right) reacts to a meeting with Palestinians on Monkey, a random video chat app, on March 31, 2024. (Source: Screenshot)

    Problems with moderation

    One of the harshest criticisms of Twitch on social media on Sunday and Monday concerned the platform's moderation, which has been questioned for some time. Twitch users have consistently raised concerns about the lack of oversight of anti-Semitic content and the permissibility of supporting terrorism, such as the continued platforming of streamers like Sneako and Fresh and Fit.

    Sneako, who recently had his ban lifted after a suspension, has videos of himself saying “Down with the Yahood” and praising Yahya Sinwar. After the former Hamas chief's death, Sneako, who has 45,000 followers, said: “Sinwar inspired him so much, may he rest in peace.”

    Twitch user and podcaster Ethan Klein said on his podcast H3 on Saturday: “Dan Clancy, the CEO (of Twitch), I think he hates Jewish people.”

    Popular live streamer and former Twitch streamer Destiny, who supports Israel, said: “It is absolutely unbelievable to me that @Twitch and @TwitchSupport allow blatant terrorist propaganda to be broadcast on their platform.”

    The Jerusalem Post I reached out to Twitch for comment.



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    Kathleen William
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