Hate raids are an enormous ongoing problem on Twitch, and the streaming platform is suing some of the people allegedly behind it, Wired reported Thursday. Specifically for “targeting black and LGBTQIA+ streamers with racist, homophobic, sexist and other harassing content.”
“We hope this Complaint will shed light on the identity of the individuals behind these attacks and the tools that they exploit, and dissuade them from taking similar behaviors to other services, and help put an end to these vile attacks against members of our community,” Twitch said via Wired.
Twitch filed a suit with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that targets two users. The actual identities of these individuals are unknown, but both apparently live in Europe. The suit states, “They evaded Twitch’s bans by creating new, alternate Twitch accounts, and continually altering their self-described ‘hate raid code’ to avoid detection and suspension by Twitch.”
Touche @Twitch
I approve of this.
https://t.co/9uGelKDEKd— Rek It, Raven! ☠ (@RekItRaven) September 10, 2021
While this doesn’t mean hate raids are a thing of the past just yet, several content creators on the platform think it’s a step in the right direction. Keep in mind that some of the tweets below contain NSFW language, so be careful when reading ahead.
Did anyone see this article about Twitch suing some of the hate raiders? Thank you @adashtra for brining this to my attention!https://t.co/R4MZSJk2ul
— Lucia Everblack (@LuciaEverblack) September 10, 2021
Yooooo @Twitch is suing in regards to the hate-raiding etc. This is great news.
It sucks it's happening, but this is a step.https://t.co/fpjoPiM61e
— GFUEL | Chlooeeeexo (@chlooeeeexo) September 10, 2021
Good!
I hope your “fun” harassing users was worth it bub!
And if Twitch does sue I hope they give back to the people affected by all this.https://t.co/uUjfWDAyif
— a Beige Question Mark (@ItsWoofy) September 10, 2021
Twitch is starting to sue people who hate raid. This means lawyers recognize that trolling causes lost income. This means YOU CAN SUE YOUR TROLLS FOR LOST INCOME! https://t.co/WmSKng7UQq
— SomaGreen (@TheSomaGreen) September 10, 2021
BIG FUCKIN W
SUE THEM INTO OBLIVION! RUIN THEIR LIVES SO BADLY THEYRE GRANDKIDS GONNA NEED LAWYERS https://t.co/L6x5OXMYcQ
— LIQUID | Crusader (@CrusaderTwitch) September 10, 2021
By all means, sue them. Assuming they live in a country where you can actually reach them.
Also, improve Twitch's security. Otherwise you're just posturing and praying to dissuade more offenders by *MAYBE* making examples of these two. https://t.co/J6W7qcNcMe
— Swordmouse (@TheSwordmouse) September 10, 2021
“I feel hopeful,” RekitRaven, a streamer that helped organize the #ADayOffTwitch movement, said via Wired. “The people who are behind this need to be held accountable for their actions. They’ve terrorized hundreds if not thousands of people. If this were to happen in a physical location we’d expect the same. It shouldn’t be any different online.”
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
