One of the largest issues among streamers on the popular streaming website Twitch is bots. I'm not talking about the bots that moderate chats and streams, but more so the bots you can't individually point out. Certain streamers, typically lesser known streamers, go to third-party websites and buy bots that will boost their viewer and follower count significantly which can give them an unfair boost. Which in turn may generate them money and sponsorships. This is obviously a massive issue because this means people are cheating the system in a big way.
People also use bots and send them towards other streamers so it looks like they're botting but in reality, it's some mean people trying to get someone banned from Twitch.
Twitch has been cracking down on individual streamers, but it has become such a massive phenomenon that it's almost impossible to take down every streamer who uses bots. Today, Twitch has announced via a blog post that they will be going after the people who are causing the problem, the websites selling the bots.
"Today we are adding a third layer. We are taking the next step toward protecting Twitch viewers and broadcasters from the damaging effects of this kind of malicious activity by taking public legal action against seven of the most active sellers of viewbot services." Said Twitch's SVP of marketing, Matthew DiPietro.
This is a massive move by Twitch by going straight to the heart of the issue and taking it out. Obviously, there will still be people who find ways to bot, but this will decrease the problem significantly. We wish Twitch the best of luck taking on this issue that is poisonous for the streaming community.
