Twitch will be indefinitely suspending the account of former U.S. President Donald Trump “due to the ongoing risk of further incitement of violence.”
The streaming platform initially suspended Trump’s account following the assault on the U.S. Capitol in the lead up to the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
The company said the move was designed to prevent Trump from inciting further violence, and said it would “reassess the account after he leaves office.”
Now, with the twice-impeached President, who had the lowest average approval rating in history, having finally been replaced by Joe Biden in The White House, Twitch told IGN that it wouldn’t be reinstating his account.
In fact, Twitch explained it intends to update its policies because of the unprecedented events that unfolded just over two weeks ago, and hopes to prevent similarly inflamatory rhetoric from rearing its head on the plartform.
“We have indefinitely suspended President Trump’s Twitch channel due to the ongoing risk of further incitement of violence. The President’s statements continue to be interpreted as calls to action, and we are taking this action to remove the potential for harm to our community and the general public,” said Twitch.
“Twitch has clear rules that prohibit hateful conduct, harassment, or incitement of violence on our service, and we consider off-service events when making enforcement decisions. However, the events of the past weeks have highlighted a gap with respect to rhetoric that encourages violence, regardless of whether or not it was directly streamed on Twitch. We will be updating our policies as a result of our consideration of this situation.”