One of the biggest streamers on Twitch is now banned from the platform.
Guy “Dr DisRespect” Beahm’s channel went down after an IRL stream he was doing at the E3 conference yesterday. He walked into a men’s public bathroom at the event and filmed its interior, inevitably exposing people who were inside. Shortly after he ended his stream, his channel went down and became unavailable.
Related: Dr Disrespect’s Twitch ban might have spiked Summit1g’s viewership.
But Doc’s ban has raised a few questions from both his fans and other streamers. Here are the main points for understanding Dr Disrespect’s Twitch ban.
Why was Dr Disrespect banned?
While doing a livestream at the E3 showroom, Doc entered the men’s bathroom and his cameraman followed him inside. While they were both there, Doc called the camera to follow him to the front of a bathroom stall. On their way there, they livestreamed several men using the bathroom in the background, from washing their hands to using urinals.
Though Doc wasn’t holding the camera and his cameraman wasn’t focusing on anyone but him, filming inside a public bathroom is against California law. Even if Doc hadn’t broken a law, Twitch’s Terms of Service forbid streamers from breaking any individual’s privacy.
Doc showing live footage on his channel from inside a bathroom, regardless if he’s the one filming it or not, is enough to be an infraction of Twitch’s rules.
Both Twitch and Doc have yet to confirm that’s the reason for the channel’s suspension, but that’s most likely it.
How long is Dr Disrespect’s ban?
No one knows. Since neither Doc nor Twitch have confirmed the channel’s suspension, we don’t even know if it’s a temporary or permanent ban from the platform.
Other consequences
E3 organizers have reportedly revoked DrDisrespect’s access to this year’s event, according to a report from Kotaku. That means he’s not allowed to be at the event anymore, regardless of whether he had appointments with sponsors or partners set up.
Doc’s ban has an impact on his subscribers as well, who likely won’t be refunded for the money they’ve spent when subscribing to his channel.
Is Doc streaming elsewhere?
Dr DisRespect hasn’t said if he’ll streaming on another platform while he’s banned from Twitch. Trying to create a new account there would be considered trying to cheat a ban, which would get the new account banned and his current suspension extended. Moving to another platform would be fair game if his contract with Twitch is over after this ban.
We will update this story as new information about Dr DisRespect’s ban comes in.
