Content Warning: this piece contains details of child predatory behaviour and online abuse.
A new report has alleged that child predators use Twitch to target children using its streaming platform, and the company has now responded, calling the statistics “deeply upsetting”.
The report, published by Bloomberg, alleges that 1,976 Twitch users exhibited “unusual patterns of behaviour” indicating that many of them primarily exist on Twitch in order to catalogue, watch and manipulate children using the streaming service.
The study ran from October 2020 to August 2022, and in this almost two-year period it was alleges that 279,016 children were targeted by hundreds of accounts. These online predators could entice children to perform suggestive dances or explicit acts, the report found.
Twitch has responded to the report with an emailed statement emphasising the steps it has taken so far to address the security of minors on the platform. “Preventing child harm is one of our most fundamental responsibilities as a society,” it said. “We do not allow children under 13 to use Twitch, and preventing our service for being used for harm is one of our biggest priorities.”
Despite the fact that the platform is not meant to be used by under 13-year-olds, there is currently no verification process in place to confirm the age and identity of streamers unless they reach affiliate status, meaning they would qualify for payouts.
