Twitch faces backlash for charging users subscribed to banned streamers, starts refunding

Following an investigation by news outlet Dexerto, it has been revealed that Twitch has been charging users for subscriptions to permanently banned streamers for years. Despite Twitch's public policy stating that recurring subscriptions should be canceled for inaccessible channels, banned streamers and those with deleted accounts continued to receive payments. Twitch described these instances as “edge cases” and admitted that there is a “grace period” before subscriptions are canceled, though the duration of this period remains unspecified.

As a result of the investigation, Twitch has begun refunding subscribers and canceling ongoing subscriptions to banned streamers. However, the total number of users eligible for refunds is still unknown. The issue gained further attention when users posted on X about ongoing payments to banned streamers, prompting more streamers to disclose that they continued receiving payments after being banned or deleting their channels.

A lawyer on X indicated that a lawsuit is forthcoming, arguing that Twitch's “grace period” justification may not hold up in court. The situation is described as potentially ranging from negligence to affirmative fraud.