Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has announced a new system to penalize streamers who use streamers to fake their viewership numbers. The platform said it has been working on this problem for a long time because many creators use third-party services to make their streams appear more popular than they actually are.
Twitch says this hurts the company and honest streamers who grow their channels organically without using fake viewers to boost their numbers.The new sanctions regime will begin in May. According to Dan Clancy, streamers who are repeatedly caught using viewing software will have limits placed on their concurrent viewing numbers, also called CCV. This means that Twitch will prevent fake inflated numbers from appearing across the platform.
The company explained that the cap will depend on the streamer’s normal real traffic and will affect all Twitch decks where viewership counts are displayed to users.
Twitch is planning viewer caps and longer penalties for repeat offenders
Dan Clancy said Twitch has improved its systems for detecting streamers, but the company still faces challenges as streamer services continue to change their methods to avoid detection. Even with these difficulties, Twitch says it wants to continue the fight against fake sharing because it creates an unfair environment for creators who don’t cheat.
The platform also confirmed that penalties will become more serious for repeat offenders. A streamer who continues to use viewing software may face longer penalties over time. However, Twitch will specifically notify Creators when enforcement action is taken on their channel. Streamers will also be allowed to appeal through Twitch’s appeals portal if they believe the penalty was administered in error.Twitch has made it clear that it will not publicly reveal which streamers will be penalized.
According to Clancy, sharing these details could help viewbot companies learn how to get around Twitch’s detection systems. For this reason, the company plans to keep most implementations private while continuing to improve its technology.The announcement comes during ongoing discussions about fake viewers across the streaming community. Many creators and fans have discussed how popular showrunners have become on streaming platforms in recent years. Twitch says this new system is just the beginning, and the company plans to expand its anti-showware efforts in the future as it continues to try to make the platform fairer for everyone.
