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Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
December 17, 2023 ·  3 min read

What You Do Offline Could Get You Banned Online. Did you know?

For a long time, social media platforms would ban you for misconduct on their site. Recently, however, platforms are making changes to make what you do offline a viable enough offense to remove you from a site permanently. (1)

What You Do Offline Could Have You Banned From Online Platforms

In April 2021, the online gaming platform Twitch announced that it would ban you for what you do offline. They will ban users for inappropriate offline conduct and anyone deemed dangerous to public safety and the safety of its users. The Amazon-owned platform even hired a law firm to investigate any users’ offline misconduct. (2)

The move comes after the 2020 gaming industry’s “Me Too” movement surrounding sexual harassment online and in-person gaming events. This included sites like Twitter and Discord. The platform’s new rules, which are intentionally broad, state that it will ban anyone who is or has (1):

  • Deliberately acted as an accomplice to non-consensual sexual activities
  • Participated in any activities or actions that directly and explicitly compromise the physical safety of the Twitch community

Many people are praising the move, saying that it will make online spaces safer for users, particularly younger users and women. Others, however, argue that it is creeping ever closer to breaching people’s civil rights. (1)

Read: This Simple Tool Will Help You See What Websites Know About You

Twitch Not The Only Platform To Do This

Lawmakers and researchers have been studying the relationship between online conduct and real-world violence for quite some time. Many platforms, including major ones like Facebook, already engage in user moderation based on criminal activity and known real-world offenses. (2) They ban any users that they believe are dangerous, including anyone involved in (1):

  • Terrorist groups or activities
  • Organized criminal or hate groups
  • Convicted sex offenders
  • Mass murderers
  • Militarized social movements
  • Violence-induced conspiracy networks

Other sites are now cracking down on anyone known to be involved with actions inciting racist violence in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement that surged last year. Companies aren’t just scouring their own platforms but those of other social websites to find anyone who may have fallen through the cracks of their own and other sites’ rules. One of the most famous examples of this was when Twitter banned former U.S. President Donald Trump after tweets he made that encouraged the violent attack on capitol hill. (1)

Each Platform Has Its Own Rules

While all platforms are taking action to ban users who have dangerous offline conduct, what they consider a removable offense differs for each platform. What a site might ban you for will vary from site to site. Many platforms are currently focused on violence and sexual exploitation; however, other criminal activities such as fraud and money laundering are also being taken into consideration. (2)

As always, provided you are a law-abiding citizen without a history of violence, terrorism, sexual harassment, and other discriminatory and dangerous activity, you’ll be unaffected. All of these new regulations are still taking shape, so we will have to wait to see just how intertwined the online and offline world become in the eyes of the law. 

Keep Reading: TikTok Is Watching You – Even If You Don’t Have an Account

Sources

  1. As tech faces a reckoning, what you do offline can get you banned.” Reuters. Elizabeth Culliford. April 27,2021.
  2. Amazon’s Twitch will punish users for certain harmful offline behavior like engaging in deadly violence.” CNBC. Lauren Feiner. April 7, 2021.