Twitch launches safety advisory council to help clean up its platform

Amazon-owned video game streaming platform Twitch is creating its own Safety Advisory Council. The council will help Twitch draft new policies, develop products, protect the interests of marginalised groups, identify "emerging trends" and promote healthy streaming and work-life balance habits, according to the company's blog announcing the board. The board is made up of a number of Twitch streamers including CohhCarnage, Cupahnoodle, FerociouslySteph, and Zizaran, who collectively have an audience of approximately 1.6M followers. It also includes the deputy CEO of the non-profit'The Diana Award' Alex Holmes, which aims to help prevent bullying in schools, and Emma Llansó Director of the Center for Democracy & Technology's Free Expression Project which supports "Internet users' free expression rights" and has worked on counter-terrorism, disinformation, and radicalising content. Finally, the board includes two academics: Dr. Sameer Hinduja, a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University and Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, and T.L. Taylor, a Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT and co-founder and Director of Research for eSports organisation AnyKey.