Twitch terminates contracts of all Safety Advisory Council members – report

Twitch is reportedly terminating the contracts of all existing Safety Advisory Council members and replacing them with streamers.

In 2020, Twitch launched the Safety Advisory Council to “enhance” the streaming platform’s approach to moderation by drafting policy updates, developing features to improve moderation, and protecting members of marginalized groups.

The initial team was made up of “advisors” and some streamers. One of the original members, Steph ‘FerociouslySteph’ Loehr, sparked controversy and faced criticism following the announcement for comments about voice chat in games, and self-identifying as a deer.

The council has operated for four years, but according to a report by CNBC, on May 31, 2024, its members will be terminated and will not receive payment for the second half of the year.

Members were reportedly paid between $10,000 to $20,000 per their 12-month contracts.

“Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors,” the company said in an email viewed by CNBC.

However, according to The Verge, Twitch is significantly expanding upon its Safety Advisory Council by bringing in a slew of new members.

Twitch trust and safety communications manager Elizabeth Busby says the site is adding members from the 180 streamers part of its ambassador program in an attempt to bring new ideas to the table.

“After working with many of the same core members for several years, we have brought in new council members to offer fresh, diverse perspectives,” she explained. “We’re excited to work with our global Twitch Ambassadors, all of whom are active on Twitch, know our safety work first hand, and have a range of experiences to pull from.”

The news comes just five months after the Amazon-owned platform laid off 500 employees, 35% of the total workforce, at the beginning of the year.

Despite the widespread layoffs, the company’s CEO, Dan Clancy, revealed that Twitch still isn’t profitable.

“The bottom line is, we were bigger than we needed to be, in terms of the size we needed to be to service your needs,” he said to justify the decision.