Twitch terminates all members of its Safety Advisory Council
Summary
The council is a resource of nine industry experts, streamers and moderators who consulted on trust and safety issues related to children on Twitch, nudity, banned users and more. "Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors," the email, viewed by CNBC, stated. Twitchs decision to end the SACs contracts comes amid more than a year of belt-tightening and layoffs across the tech industry, especially on safety and ethics teams, which some companies view as cost centers. The cuts come at a time of increased cyberbullying, which has been linked to higher rates of adolescent self-harm, and as the spread of misinformation and violent content collides with the exploding use of AI. A year ago, Twitch laid off about 50 employees responsible for monitoring abusive, illegal or harmful behavior, according to people familiar who spoke with CNBC at the time.