The U.S. military esports team bans commentators who asked about U.S. war crimes

The U.S. Army esports team bans Twitch users who have blocked it from streaming because of questions about U.S. war crimes, saying it will return to Twitch soon.

In a statement sent to The edge, an army spokesman said the esports team would “restore access to accounts previously banned for harassing and demeaning behavior” and “would review and clarify its policies and procedures for the stream.” The esports outfit, which stopped streaming last month after allegations that it violated the first amendment by banning users, said it “would resume streaming on Twitch in the near future, but a specific date has not yet been set. ”

The US military’s use of esports as a recruiting tool has been scrutinized in recent months. Reports are marked how the U.S. military’s esports channel has used deceptive award shows to direct users to recruitment pages, and how viewers are banned from asking army streamers about war crimes committed by the U.S. military.

The latter point has led to complaints from free speech advocates who claim that a US military video game stream is the same as any other public forum under government supervision, and thus should uphold the principles of first amendment. As a Knight First Amendment Institute attorney, Katie Fallow, said in a statement statement: “The military and navy cannot constitutionally remove comments or ban people from these Twitch channels simply because they ask questions about issues they would rather not address.”

Last month, the Knight First Amendment Institute wrote to both the Army and Navy esports teams asking them to unlink users and publish a clear policy for their accounts. The institute has previously sued President Donald Trump for blocking critics on Twitter on the same grounds. It won its case and the president was forced unlock dozens of users.

“The team is reviewing and clarifying its policies and procedures for the stream and will deny anyone denied access to space as long as they follow the team’s guidelines,” the US military said in a statement. “Personal attacks, foul language, pornography, harassment and bullying will not be tolerated on the stream and action will be taken if individuals choose to engage in this behavior.”