The Future of Online Safety: Creating Safe Spaces for Women

Carly Earnest
SXSX 2025 - SJMC Student Media Coverage

Staying safe online has become more important than ever—especially on platforms like Twitch, where live interactions can sometimes invite unwanted harassment. In recent years, Twitch has made significant strides in improving user safety, something that is discussed in The Future of Online Safety: Creating Safe Spaces for Women, a panel at SXSW 2025.

Kristen Murdock, a senior director at Twitch, will share the spotlight with Chelsea Bytes, a well-known Twitch creator. Bytes offers an insider’s perspective on the Twitch world by witnessing the changes firsthand.

“You don’t have to wait for bad things to happen—you can block that energy before it even
reaches you,” Bytes said. “A lot of people don’t realize that you can fine-tune your chat experience by requiring users to have verified emails and phone numbers. If you only want to interact with people who have followed you for a day, a week, a month or even six months, you have the power to set those limits.”

These are just a few of the updates Twitch has made to strengthen its online safety measures, fostering a more welcoming and secure space. This panel will explore these changes in depth while also shedding light on the unsafe conditions that women often face in the online world, something that Bytes has experienced personally.

“Hate raids come from people with bad intentions who flood your chat with horrible messages or keep harassing you, completely disrupting your flow—for no reason at all,” Bytes said. “Whether it's because you're a woman, a different skin color, a different sexuality or anything else, it’s unfair.”

Beyond chat controls, Twitch has introduced other safety features, such as AI-powered moderation tools and improved reporting systems, to address harassment more effectively. These advancements make it easier for streamers to filter out harmful content and for moderators to take swift action against offenders. Murdock will discuss how Twitch is continuously refining these tools, ensuring they evolve alongside the platform’s growing community.

Another critical topic the panel will tackle is the broader implications of online harassment.
While Twitch’s safety features are a step in the right direction, Bytes and Murdock will highlight the importance of community-driven efforts to foster inclusivity. Empowering users with knowledge and support networks is just as crucial as platform-level interventions.

As digital spaces continue to expand, conversations like The Future of Online Safety serve as a reminder that creating a secure environment requires ongoing commitment from both platform developers and their users. By equipping streamers with better tools and raising awareness about online safety, Twitch is making progress toward a more respectful and harassment-free community.

The Future of Online Safety: Creating Safe Spaces for Women will be held from 11:30 am to
12:30 pm on Saturday, March 8th in Room 5ABC of the Austin Convention Center. Register for SXSW 2025 and immerse yourself in a dynamic environment where you can engage
in thought-provoking conversations with industry leaders and innovators from around the world.