Ocasio Cortez Congress Twitch
What just happened? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's attempt to ban the US military from recruiting on Twitch has failed. The US Representative's proposed amendment to the House Appropriations bill would have prevented the military from using funds to 'maintain a presence on Twitch.com or any video game, esports, or live-streaming platform.'
Speaking on the House Floor before yesterday's vote, AOC said: 'Children should not be targeted in general for many marketing purposes in addition to military service. Right now, currently, children on platforms such as Twitch are bombarded with banner ads linked to recruitment signup forms that can be submitted by children as young as 12 years old. These are not education outreach programs for the military.'
The amendment failed after 292 voted against it, with 126 in favor. The majority of those opposing the bill were Republicans (188), though 103 Democrats and one Independent also voted against the changes.
Controversial Democratic representative from New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently proposed an amendment that would have prevented the US Army and Navy from using their budget to advertise on the popular streaming platform, Twitch.
- A Twitch spokesperson said at one point, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez had 435,000 people watching. Hasan Piker was one of the streamers playing last night. He's a popular political commentator on Twitch.
- Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel garnered a staggering audience of 439,000 viewers, all watching her in real time (the record for a Twitch stream is about 628,000 concurrent viewers) with.
Posing on Twitter after the vote, AOC wrote: 'It's totally fine if you don't know what Twitch is,' she wrote. 'But tech literary is becoming a growing need in Congress so we can legislate to protect people's privacy.'
Imagine trying to explain to your colleagues who are members of Congress what Twitch is ?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 30, 2020The US Army's Twitch activities have been plagued with controversy recently. The streaming site was forced to step in when the channel ran a fake competition to win an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller that was just a link to a recruitment form. It's also been accused of violating viewers' First Amendment rights by banning users who asked about the Army's favorite war crimes.
While the Army, Navy, and Air Force all have their own esports teams and Twitch channels, the Marines haven't been as eager to join in. 'This is due in part to the belief that the brand and issues associated with combat are too serious to be 'gamified' in a responsible manner.'
The Army had already paused its social activity, streaming on Twitch, and official activations with Twitch following the recent criticism. The military branch told Gamespot it would 'review internal policies and procedures, as well as all platform-specific policies, to ensure those participating in the space are clear before streaming resumes.' Some expect the Army will not resume its esports/streaming activities until spring 2021.
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In a 292-126 vote Thursday night, the U.S. House rejected an amendment by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., that would have placed limits on U.S. military recruitment ads, according to a report.
The more than 2-to-1 defeat of the Democrat’s plan means the military may continue posting recruitment ads on Twitch, a streaming platform popular with online gamers.
Earlier Thursday on Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez made an appeal to convince lawmakers to back her proposal.
“War is not a game,” she wrote. “Twitch is a popular platform for children FAR under the age of military recruitment rules. We should not conflate military service with ‘shoot-em-up’ style games and contests.
“The Marines pulled out of Twitch for a reason,” she added. It’s time to follow their lead.”
The Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard all participate in sponsorships and partnerships in the world of so-called “e-sports,” The ESports Observer reported.
But the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard do not. In May, Military.com cited a 2019 Marine Corps recruiting document that was submitted to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
“The national marketing brand strategy does not include future plans to establish eSports teams or create branded games,” the Marine Corps wrote. “This is due in part to the belief that the brand and issues associated with combat are too serious to be ‘gamified’ in a responsible manner.”
The same report noted, however, that in January the Marines launched an Academic Excellence Program in association with Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, that offers free game time to high-achieving high school and college students.
Marine Corps recruiters have also attended esports tournaments – signaling at least some contact with an activity that attracts 72 percent of men and 49 percent of women between ages 18 and 29, Military.com reported.
After Thursday’s vote, Ocasio-Cortez returned to Twitter to put a positive spin on the outcome.
Ocasio Cortez Congress Twitch Streamer
“The good news: a majority of the Dem party supported this amendment,” she wrote. “That’s really a solid start for this being the first time this issue has been brought before Congress.”
Ocasio Cortez Program
Thirteen House members did not vote on the amendment, The ESports Observer reported.