Streamers who are fierce about keeping to their schedule are capable of streaming during bad weather and even when they might feel ill, such is the demands put on them when they’re trying to grow or simply to keep their brands, sponsors and of course fans happy.
In this article we’re going to focus on then sickness aspect and whether or not throwing up is against Twitch’s ToS or if it’s fair game.
On the surface level it seems pretty obvious but we’ve got a couple of examples of streamers vomiting where some were suspended and others were not.
Let’s go.
Is throwing up on stream against Twitch’s terms of service
No. The words throwing up or vomiting do not appear once in the official Twitch terms of service
or most importantly the community guidelines. This means that vomiting alone does not breach these terms.
This is where it gets tricky.
Taking part in activities which may cause vomiting are against community guidelines and may end up with suspension or termination immediately. But, if you are seriously unwell and throw up it may not be the case.
Let’s take a closer look at this.
Vomiting deliberately
Deliberately taking part in activities which can lead to vomiting is self harm or self-destructive behaviour and is clearly stated in the community guidelines. The list of what kinds of things that can do this is exhaustive but it boils down to:
- Consuming alcohol on stream (or streaming drunk)
- Taking drugs on stream (or streaming under the influence of drugs)
- Misuse of substances not fit for human consumption (think tide pods)
- Excessive consumption of food
- Promotion of purging of food
- Extreme physical trauma which causes concussion
Going on stream and doing any of those things which then leads to puking on a live stream can get you into serious hot water, which can lead to a suspension or worse. It is against the community guidelines and therefore the ToS.
Here’s the official word
We do not make exceptions for self destructive behavior performed as a stunt or gag made in jest, or meant to entertain, when the behavior could reasonably be expected to cause physical injury.
Twitch Community Guidelines
It seems pretty obvious that being overly drunk and throwing up is going to get you banned. Same as taking drugs and misusing items not for for human consumption.
Now we come to the subject of social eating or ‘mukbang’ as its originally known. Social eating/mukbangs do not have their own category but they are allowed, with caveats. As reported by Vice and on a page no longer accessible was the official wording to help with streamers who wanted to do social eating, they were:
[Prohibited] Eating food or in a manner intended to disgust, shock, or offend others.
Twitch HQ
So, sitting at a table eating food and Just Chatting on stream is allowed so long as the eating isn’t excessive or the main focal point of the stream. Eating too much (bing eating) and then throwing up is against the terms of services.
Streamers who set out too over consume are de facto going against the ToS of Twitch.
They may not have intended to throw up but by over consuming they have deliberately created a scenario where they could have thrown up.
Content creator Mega64 was banned from Twitch in 2019 after an eating challenge (against ToS) resulting in gratuitous vomiting on stream. The eating challenge clearly falls in the lines of eating food to disgust and shock viewers. They now stream on YouTube who don’t have such strict rules.
An example of someone who would not allowed on Twitch would be Nikocado Avocado and it’s a surprise his antics were allowed on YouTube.
Involuntarily vomiting
Someone who throws up unexpectedly or ‘at random’ is unlikely to be going against the ToS on Twitch. That is because they did not perform “self destructive behavior performed as a stunt or gag made in jest, or meant to entertain, when the behavior could reasonably be expected to cause physical injury”.
This can be from
- Food poisoning
- Viral infection
- Concussion (that wasn’t cause deliberately on stream)
- Motion sickness (which can be brought on by VR)
- Appendicitis
- Crohn’s disease / IBS
Chance once threw up laughing and he wasn’t banned, streamer Icedshell2 also once threw up after waking up and he is still live and kicking.
Conclusion
Doing something risky or funny which could result in puking is agains the ToS and it may create controversy and help you grow a following in the very short term but ultimately it could lead to a permanent ban.
Throwing up because you’re sick or by accident will unlikely result in a ban and users should try to take a break if their ill or be ready to pause the stream as it happens.
