With the 2024 President Election in full swing, the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform Twitch has reinstated former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's channel. The decision to unban Trump comes nearly three years and a half years after the platform indefinitely banned him following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capital by his far-right supporters.
Twitch's decision to ban him was over concerns he would use the platform "to incite further violence." However, with Trump now the confirmed Republican presidential nominee and election day just months away, Twitch now believes Americans deserve the chance to hear from him directly, when possible.
"We reinstated former President Trump's Twitch channel," a Twitch spokesperson confirmed in a statement. "We believe there is value in hearing from Presidential nominees directly, when possible. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for US president."
"We continue to enforce our Community Guidelines and take necessary enforcement action when we identify violations of our rules," the statement continues. "Twitch doesn't have a 'public figure policy', meaning all channels are equally subject to our guidelines, regardless of whether the channel belongs to a public figure."