Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s amendment to change the rules on military recruitment on platforms like Twitch was voted out by US politicians, despite the majority of Democrats supporting it.
The strategy of recruitment through streaming platforms by the US Army, Navy, and Air Force was thrust into the spotlight after two instances of negative press earlier this month. Firstly, Twitch ordered the US Army Esports channel to remove misleading giveaways that would redirect viewers to recruitment forms. There were also numerous instances of people being banned from Twitch chats when trying to talk negatively about the US military, and some discovered that phrases such as “US war crimes” were censored.
As a result, Ocasio-Cortez filed an amendment that would prevent the military from spending federal money on advertisements and recruitment strategies for streaming platforms and esports. However, politicians voted against the amendment 292-126. 13 members didn’t participate in the vote.
While the majority of her party supported her amendment, Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to vent frustrations with those who voted against and the lack of technological knowledge present in US politics.
“When our legislative bodies aren’t sufficiently responsive to tech, then that means we don’t have the tools required to protect people,” she says. “This is partially why companies know way more about you than you may even be aware of – because it’s legal, and Congress is struggling to keep up.”
The good news: a majority of the Dem party supported this amendment.
That’s a really solid start for this being the first time this issue has been brought before Congress.
We’ve made great strides since *that* Senate FB hearing, but we’ve got a lot of room to still improve!
When our legislative bodies aren’t sufficiently responsive to tech, then that means we don’t have the tools required to protect people.
This is partially why companies know way more about you than you may even be aware of – bc it’s legal, and Congress is struggling to keep up.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 30, 2020
The US Army Esports channel has not streamed on Twitch since July 9, however it is still a primary sponsor for esports events such as the Call of Duty League.
