Harassment, abuse, and other serious misconduct can get you banned from Twitch even if it did not occur on the streaming platform, according to new guidelines released this week.

Twitch's out-of-service policy had previously considered misconduct that spilled over from the platform to other forums, such as an altercation on Twitch followed by Twitter or Discord. However, Twitch has now introduced a plan to address "serious violations" related to the Twitch community.

The guidelines list examples of serious (and by far criminal) misconduct that could result in banning from the platform. While not exhaustive, this list includes deadly violence, membership in or leadership of known hate groups, terrorist activity, sexual assault, and outright and credible threats against Twitch employees or the broader community.

"While it is a novel approach for Twitch and the industry as a whole to address misconduct that occurs outside of our services, we believe it is critical that we get this right. It's an iterative and ongoing process, and as always, our ultimate goal is to build a safer Twitch for everyone."

Twitch acknowledges that it cannot devote resources to events that occur completely outside of its jurisdiction, and states that it has partnered with an "experienced investigative law firm" to more thoroughly investigate claims of misconduct outside of its platform. Reports can also be made via a new dedicated email address at [email protected].

While primarily a game streaming platform, Twitch, as the most popular streaming service, has been at the forefront of political events in the past year: when the U.S. Capitol was attacked in February, thousands watched it live on Twitch Twitch subsequently banned the former U.S. president from the site.

In order to ensure Twitch's status as a safe place for content creation, it cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in the wider world. Hopefully, these new guidelines will help prevent bad actors from gaining a foothold on the platform.