How Twitch Could Finally Shed Some Light On Dr Disrespect's Ban
According to cybersecurity student and open-source developer Daylam 'Tayari' Tayar, Twitch is reportedly adding a new function for advertisers called a "Brand Safety Score." The goal of this function would be to help determine what ads are best suited for individual streamers based on a number of different factors. If implemented, the feature could shine some light on the reasoning behind Dr Disrespect's ban from Twitch in 2020, which has remained a mystery to fans.
The new Brand Safety Score would grade "how brand friendly every streamer is based on things like chat behavior, ban history, manual ratings by Twitch staff, games played, age, automod and more," Tayari reported. He added that the new terms of the safety score would likely be sent to advertisers and sponsors, and could be used for Twitch bounties — game promotions from developers that streamers can choose in return for payment.
Tayari explained that the Brand Safety Score would also incorporate the relationship that the streamer has with the streaming platform, a manual rating provided by Twitch staff, the ESRB rating of the games that are played on stream, and whether or not the stream is intended for mature audiences. If implemented, these scores could also provide clues as to why some more high profile streamers have been banned.
In theory, Dr Disrespect, a resident of California, could request his user data in accordance with the California Consumer Protection Act to learn more about the reason for his ban in the Brand Safety Score, as noted by former Twitch admin Saysera.
Dr Disrespect has been pretty tight-lipped about his ban, though he has suggested he was pushed out to make room for other big streamers. The Doc has also maintained that Twitch never actually gave him a concrete reason for his ban.
Perhaps anticipating backlash for the new feature, the streaming platform told PC Gamer that "nothing has launched yet, no personal information was shared, and we will keep our community informed of any updates along the way." In addition, Twitch reportedly removed all elements of its Brand Safety Score from its API code the day after Tayari reported on it (though you can still find a screenshot of the original).
Tayari expressed his hope that the removal of Brand Safety Scores was not permanent. He tweeted, "This change was a good change as it would help Twitch target ads better which would help them get to the level of a YouTube on an advertising sense, thus leading to creators earning more."
Only time will tell if Twitch will choose to fully implement Brand Safety Scores, or if the information contained therein would truly allow Dr Disrespect to finally get to the bottom of his controversial ban.