Ocasio Cortez Congress Twitch

1. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday that she will stream 'Among Us' on her Twitch channel with Twitch streamers Pokimane and HasanAbi on Tuesday evening.
2. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez out on Capitol Hill and she told us she’s actually in the process of signing up her — shall we say more senior — colleagues to the game streaming platform so they too can capitalize on the massive audience it provides.

Her Twitch debut ranks third among the. Allowing everyday people to virtually interact with a member of congress. Ocasio-Cortez’s Among Us stream is the latest sign that Twitch’s.

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.

Cortez had proposed an amendment to H.R. 7617, a bill for “making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and for other purposes.”

Her amendment would prohibit “the use of funds for military recruitment via Twitch and e-sports activities.”

Speaking with Vice about the amendment, Ocasio-Cortez stated, “It’s incredibly irresponsible for the Army and the Navy to be recruiting impressionable young people and children via live streaming platforms. War is not a game, and the Marine Corps’ decision not to engage in this recruiting tool should be a clear signal to the other branches of the military to cease this practice entirely.”

She would also take to the floor to argue for her amendment saying, “Right now currently, children on platforms such as Twitch are bombarded with banner ads that link to recruitment sign-up forms that can be submitted by children as young as 12-years-old.”

She added, “These are not educational outreach programs, but recruitment forms for the military.”

.@AOC: Children on platforms such as Twitch are bombarded with banners ads that link to military recruitment sign up forms that can be submitted by children as young as 12 years old. pic.twitter.com/9N7u2R9TjN

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) July 30, 2020

Cortez’s amendment came after it was reported by The Nation that the U.S. Army had banned their writer Jordan Uhl, who claimed the United States had committed numerous war crimes.

Uhl would also claim the U.S. military was using Twitch to target “children in unstable and/or disadvantaged situations.” He added, “Recruiters take advantage of the poor seeking steady income, the vulnerable longing for stability, and the undocumented living in fear because of their citizenship status.”

The Nation writer would also report that the U.S. Army’s Twitch channel was running giveaways, but makes no mention of the odds, number of winners, or when winners will be chosen.

Responding to this report, a Twitch spokesperson told Kotaku, “Per our Terms of Service, promotions on Twitch must comply with all applicable laws.”

They added, “This promotion did not comply with our Terms, and we have required them to remove it.”

An Army representative issued their own response to Kotaku, “Each giveaway has its own URL and marketing activity code that directly connect the registrant to the specific giveaway.”

They added, “An eligible winner is selected at random, and the prize is given out. Twitch asked our team to remove the giveaway for lack of transparency, and they did. The team is exploring options to use platforms for giveaways that will provide more external clarity.”

ESports reporter Rod Breslau would follow that up and indicated that the Army paused their Twitch activity.

He wrote, “new: sources tell me due to recent media coverage of fake giveaways and potentially unconstitutional bans, the US Army esports team has paused social activity, streaming on Twitch, and official activations with Twitch including participating in upcoming Twitch Rivals events according to one email seen.”

He added, “While there is no official time frame for a return of the US Army across social media or on their Twitch channel, official marketing activations may not see a return until all the way in Spring 2021.”

In a subsequent tweet he added, “this is only a temporary pause from the US Army’s side. Twitch continues to have an official partnership with the US Army and Navy.”

Leading up to the vote on her amendment Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter, where she wrote, “Imagine trying to explain to your colleagues who are members of Congress what Twitch is.”

She added, “Some context for a few folks getting upset at this: Congress is voting on legislation regarding Twitch today. It’s totally fine if you don’t know what Twitch is. But tech literacy is becoming an growing need in Congress so we can legislate to protect people’s privacy, etc.”

She continued, “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,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

On July 30th, the United States House of Representatives voted against Ocasio-Cortez’s amendment.

The amendment vote had 126 Yea (all democrats), 292 Nay (103 democrats, 188 republicans, 1 independent), and 13 Non-Voting (3 democrats, 10 republicans).

Immediately, following the vote she would write, “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.”

She added, “We’ve made great strides since *that* Senate FB hearing, but we’ve got a lot of room to still improve!”

Currently, both the United States Army and Navy continue to have a relationship with Twitch.

What do you think? Is the military taking advantage of young Twitch viewers?

Share your thoughts below.

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke about the GameStop and Robinhood trading drama on a livestream Thursday night.
• Ocasio-Cortez said she would be joined by two guests to offer insight and updates on the matter.
• Earlier in the day, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her criticism of Robinhood's decision to restrict some trading.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Following days of Reddit-fueled trading of volatile stocks and the subsequent trading freezes imposed by the fee-free stock trading app, Robinhood, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she will discuss the recent developments on the livestream video service, Twitch, Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Ocasio-Cortez initially said she would be joined by Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital, and Twitter user TheStockGuy to offer insight and updates on the evolving situation. As of nearly 10:00 p.m. ET, she had been joined by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Alexis Goldstein, and TheStockGuy.

Earlier Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her criticism of Robinhood's move to block some stock purchases. She called the decision unacceptable and said more information was needed. As a member of the Financial Services Committee in Congress, she said she would support a hearing on the matter if necessary.

Ocasio Cortez Congress Twitch Streamer

'Inquiries into freezes should not be limited solely to Robinhood,' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. 'This is a serious matter. Committee investigators should examine any retail services freezing stock purchases in the course of potential investigations - especially those allowing sales, but freezing purchases.'

Sen. Ted Cruz then retweeted his support of her statement, writing 'fully agree.' Ocasio-Cortez fired back that she would be happy to work with Republicans on the matter where there is common ground, but accused Cruz of trying to have her murdered three weeks ago during the Capitol insurrection.

'Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren't trying to get me killed,' she tweeted.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Among Us

Ocasio-Cortez has previously used Twitch as a way to encourage voter turnout, livestreaming herself playing the popular video game Among Us.