Amazon will train on Twitch streamers' content by default, unless they opt out

Twitch, the streaming platform owned by Amazon, has introduced a new default setting that allows creators' channel content — including audio and video livestreams — to be used for training generative AI models for Amazon. The announcement was framed as "adding a setting that lets you opt out," rather than stating that Amazon would begin training on users' content, which caused confusion among streamers about whether their content had already been used. The change drew swift and concentrated backlash because creators are opted in by default, and many fear they may unknowingly surrender their content to train Amazon's AI models, especially since streamers often broadcast themselves for hours each week and have no practical way to make their content private while still monetizing it.

In a live stream on Twitch's official channel, Twitch Head of Community Mary Kish and Chief Product Officer Mike Minton addressed an audience of nearly 3,000 aggrieved users, many of whom were posting anti-AI sentiments. When asked why the setting is opt-out rather than opt-in, Minton gave an honest answer: "If this was opt-in, nobody would opt in." When asked whether videos had already been fed to Amazon, Minton said he didn't know what Amazon has done in terms of model training and what data was used. Kish noted that Twitch is not unique in this practice: Meta uses public content from Facebook and Instagram to train its own AI models, with only U.K. users able to opt out; for everyone else, private settings are the only alternative, which isn't feasible for creators who monetize their accounts. Kish argued that even offering an opt-out on Twitch "reflects reacting to this community's voice."

To opt out of AI training on Twitch, users can navigate to their settings. The controversy highlights the broader tension between platforms' data advantages in AI development and creators' lack of consent and transparency, and the default opt-out model is likely to continue fueling complaints from the Twitch community.