15 votes

Twitch and their abuse of power

5 comments

  1. [5]
    Grzmot
    Link
    Both Twitch and Youtube (and all other platforms like those two) seem to suffer from the same problem, whereby the content creators on those sites are subjected to unclear rules with often...

    Both Twitch and Youtube (and all other platforms like those two) seem to suffer from the same problem, whereby the content creators on those sites are subjected to unclear rules with often arbitrary application. Wubby himself often produces edgy content, but in this case he was completely in the right, and still got a 5 day ban. And as he rightly states in the video, a 5 day ban can be a death sentence for a small streamer. For someone who is fully invested in streaming, this can mean serious danger when a paycheck doesn't come in. Wubby himself states that he lost a lot of money, but was lucky enough to be big enough so that he can carry on.

    Content creators on Twitch (and Youtube) honestly need the same protections as employees, because they depend on Twitch to properly work. One might say that it is an inherent risk, but I think those people deserve protection, as it's basically the same situation that a lot of people face especially in the US, where work that should really be done by employees is contracted out legally to avoid responsibilities towards the contractor from the POV of the company.

    Of course, this is never going to happen, unless a streaming platform by actual streamers is created, much like Nebula. But without high-profile people leaving, this is not going to happen.

    10 votes
    1. [4]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      What employee protections would help for something like this? It seems like as an at-will employee, if you break their rules (however vaguely defined) they can still fire you for it? But I'm...

      What employee protections would help for something like this? It seems like as an at-will employee, if you break their rules (however vaguely defined) they can still fire you for it? But I'm thinking about California law and I'm sure other places are different.

      5 votes
      1. [3]
        Grzmot
        Link Parent
        You'd have the ability to sue for wrongful termination, no? As shown in the video, the rules are not applied equally, any lawyer would have a field day with this.

        You'd have the ability to sue for wrongful termination, no? As shown in the video, the rules are not applied equally, any lawyer would have a field day with this.

        1 vote
        1. [2]
          stu2b50
          Link Parent
          For the US partners, at least, employment in basically every state is at-will, so as long as they're not terminating you over issues protected by law (i.e sexual/racial discrimination), there is...

          For the US partners, at least, employment in basically every state is at-will, so as long as they're not terminating you over issues protected by law (i.e sexual/racial discrimination), there is no reason that is wrong for termination. An employer can terminate you for any reason. There is no mandate to apply the rules you make yourself as a company equally.

          Not only that, but I really doubt any of the partners would stand a chance in a litigation against Youtube.

          3 votes
          1. cfabbro
            Link Parent
            Which is precisely why class action lawsuits exist. Not even google or amazon are immune from them.

            Not only that, but I really doubt any of the partners would stand a chance in a litigation against Youtube.

            Which is precisely why class action lawsuits exist. Not even google or amazon are immune from them.

            3 votes