Ryan Kennedy Senior Manager & Head of Moderation, Twitch

Ryan Kennedy began his career in content moderation as a member of Twitch’s very first moderation team when the site launched in 2011. Today, Ryan is head of Twitch’s Moderation team and responsible for managing both community policy and community policy enforcement. Core to Twitch’s DNA, the Moderation team has enabled Twitch to grow from small start-up to an industry leader in gaming content, as well as move into premium and user-generated non-gaming content.

Rapid response and takedown is crucial to effective moderation of live and interactive experiences, and Ryan’s leadership has enabled the Moderation team to do this around the clock for a community of two million+ unique, monthly broadcasters. Twitch’s Moderation team has also been at the helm for many of the largest events in the industry, from live gaming events including esports tournaments, E3’s press conferences, and The Game Awards, to Crunchyroll anime and Bob Ross marathons, to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Utilizing his experience at all levels of the community, Ryan works with internal and external stakeholders to maintain effective community-oriented moderation policies and processes. Ryan also consults with Twitch’s Safety product team to assist in developing effective moderation tools, such as AutoMod, which enable creators to thrive and community moderators to maintain safe, engaging community experiences.