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Twitch plans to fire all members of its safety advisory committee on Friday, according to sources familiar with the situation and documents viewed by CNBC.
The Council is a Resource of 9 Industry experts, streamers, and moderators consulted on trust and safety issues regarding children, nudity, banned users, and more on Twitch.
of AmazonOwned game streaming company launched Safety Advisory Committee The council was formed in May 2020 to “strengthen Twitch’s approach to trust and safety issues” and guide decision-making on the platform, according to the company’s webpage. According to the webpage, the council advised Twitch on “drafting new policies and updating policies,” “developing products and features that improve safety and moderation,” and “protecting the interests of marginalized groups.”
For four years, the group has been advising the company on issues such as “hate attacks” against vulnerable groups and bans on nudity.
However, on the afternoon of May 6, city council members were called into a meeting after receiving an email informing them that all existing contracts expire on May 31, 2024, meaning they would not be able to receive payments for the second half of 2024.
The Council is not a Twitch employee. AdvisorThese include Dr. Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Centre, and Dr. T.L. Taylor, co-founder and director of AnyKey, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in gaming.
“Going forward, the Safety Advisory Board will be primarily comprised of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors,” the email seen by CNBC said.
“Pursuant to section 5(a) of the SAC Advisor Agreement, we are providing you with notice of termination, which means that you will not receive the second payment for 2024,” the company wrote in a formal notice in the same email.
Twitch ambassadors are users of the streaming platform who have been “highly selected for the positive impact they have made in the Twitch community,” according to the company’s website.
According to a source familiar with the contract, compensation varied depending on the length of the contract, but council members were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 every 12 months.
Twitch’s decision to end its contract with SAC comes amid more than a year of austerity and cuts across the tech industry, particularly in safety and ethics teams that some companies view as cost centers. The cuts come amid a rise in cyberbullying that’s been linked to an increase in youth self-harm, and a collision between the spread of misinformation and violent content and the explosive use of AI.
A year ago, Twitch laid off about 50 employees responsible for monitoring for abusive, illegal or harmful behavior, according to people who spoke to CNBC at the time. The company’s trust and safety team, known internally as T&S, lost about 15% of its staff at a time when content moderation has seemingly never been more important.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, a Twitch spokesperson said the company had welcomed “new council members to bring fresh and diverse perspectives” and that its ambassador program has more than 180 streamers in it, “and this new format allows us to include even more voices and perspectives.”
Twitch declined to comment on whether its ambassadors are paid.