Recent reports claimed that Twitch was blocking users in Israel from creating accounts on the livestreaming platform, but Twitch has now denied these allegations. Instead, the platform said the issue stemmed from its email verification process, an issue it has since fixed.
Twitch Secretly Blocked IP Addresses in Israel After October 7
Twitch released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday denying that it has prevented users from signing up to the streaming platform. However, it did admit that it temporarily disabled email-verified registrations in both Israel and Palestine following the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people.
"Following the attacks of October 7, 2023, we temporarily disabled email-verified registrations in Israel and Palestine," Twitch's statement read. "We did this to prevent the uploading of graphic material related to the attack and to protect user safety."
The platform debunked online claims that it was blocking registrations entirely, saying that people from both regions could still create accounts via phone verification since the platform disabled email verification. Twitch also suggested that it forgot to flip the switch that allowed users to register via email and apologized for the mistake.
