As a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, many Russian citizens making a living from online platforms have been deprived of their income due to service suspension. Russian streamers on Twitch were taken aback when the global live-streaming service informed them that they would not receive payments until further notice.
The streamers received an official email stating that Twitch will be complying with the imposed sanctions, which entails restricting their access to any earnings made through the platform and denying the possibility of earning revenue through their content or supporting other streamers.
Twitch expressed its regrets and advised the streamers to find another way of receiving payment. While their only possible alternative was PayPal, the company also blocked their services to Russia as of Sunday, leaving the streamers without any source of income.
Although the Russian streaming community fears for its livelihood, many streamers claim their followers have been very supportive, so they will keep streaming and providing people with the relief they need in these harsh times.
The situation received a lot of media coverage, some sources even claiming that the entire community of Russian streamers was blocked on Twitch. This turned out to be false, as some had already been using PayPal as their payment method. In light of the current events, however, their salaries are hanging under a question mark too.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities have announced they will be blocking certain platforms in the country as well, which hardly helps the streamers’ cause.
