The US military is stopping streaming video games on Twitch after being criticized for censorship. Specifically, the US military has had its own channel . This has allowed many users to ask questions about crimes , but has resulted in them being muted or banned. This has naturally sparked a storm of reactions.
The hiatus was announced by esports consultant Rod “Slasher” Breslau, who said the U.S. military is halting streaming, social activity, and participation in the upcoming Twitch Rivals competition . Breslau said there is no official timeframe for a return and that Twitch has not canceled its official partnerships with the U.S. Army and Navy esports teams
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army confirmed the news to GameSpot. Specifically, he said the military is halting streaming to review the platform 's internal policies and procedures to ensure there is no risk to participants before resuming streaming. He added that the policies and procedures in question include how military streamers handle criticism on their channels. Streamers from the U.S. Army and Navy have banned viewers from asking about U.S. war crimes and asking them to provide information, such as that involving Eddie Gallagher, a former frogman accused of war crimes after allegedly stabbing a 17-year-old prisoner to death and then posing with his body. However, Gallagher was later acquitted of most charges after an intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump .
Civil rights lawyers have commented on the incident, noting that while Twitch streamers are generally free to control their channels as they see fit, the U.S. military is a branch of the government and must obey different rules. They also added that a video game stream is considered an open forum for discussion, so the military should support free speech. The U.S. Army and Navy cannot delete comments or prohibit people from asking questions about such matters, said Katie Fallow, a senior attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute.
The military, on the other hand, argues that questions about war crimes constitute harassment and therefore violate Twitch’s terms of service . The military also blocked the term “war crimes” from its Twitch channel after it discovered that it was being used against it, not as a form of censorship, Army spokeswoman Kelli Bland told the New York Times. Following Twitch’s guidelines and policies, the U.S. Army eSports team banned a user for using language that was offensive and derogatory to the military. The channel’s people have taken a stand on criticism of the military’s censorship, and have stressed that those who were punished violated the platform’s terms of service.
In addition to accusations of censorship, the US military has been accused of using fake gifts to push its viewers to recruitment pages. The youngest congresswoman in history, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wants to pass a measure that would prevent the military from trying to recruit candidates through video games. Vice reports that proceedings have already begun to prevent the military from using government funds to stay active on Twitch or any other video game, esports or live streaming platform. It is not certain, however, that the amendment will survive the approval process of the bill, which must pass both the House and Senate before becoming law. Ocasio-Cortez told Motherboard that it is incredibly irresponsible for the Army and Navy to recruit young people and children through live streaming platforms. War is not a game, and the Marine Corps' decision not to engage in this tool should be a clear message to the other branches of the military to stop this practice.
