Twitch users have finally pushed the interactive livestreaming service to allow more nudity after years of banning predominantly female streamers who were penalized for violating sexual content policies that Twitch now admits were too confusing.
In one high-profile example, just two days before the policy change, Twitch banned OnlyFans model Morgpie for posting topless streams. Although Morgpie's videos were filmed with the suggestion of nudity, they “never actually featured content that explicitly violated Twitch's sexual content policies,” TechCrunch reported. For critics, Twitch's reasoning for banning Morgpie remains unclear.
Angela Hession, Twitch's chief customer trust officer, wrote in a blog that Twitch “has received consistent feedback from streamers that our current sexual content policies are confusing and that it can be difficult to know how to base their content on them.” these guidelines can be interpreted.”
Hession acknowledged that Twitch's policy of “prohibiting content that intentionally highlights breasts, buttocks, or pelvic area, even when fully clothed” is confusing.
“Streamers found it difficult to determine what was forbidden and what was allowed, and often the assessment of whether or not a stream violated this part of the policy was subjective,” Hession wrote.
Combined with another policy that restricted “sexually suggestive” content, Twitch's previous policy proved to be “overly punitive” and “resulted in female streamers being disproportionately penalized,” Hession wrote.
To avoid confusion, Twitch announced that it has combined two separate policies addressing sexual content under Twitch's Community Guidelines into a single sexual content policy. This policy “specifies the types of sexual content prohibited on Twitch” and clarifies enforcement.
Another important part of the policy overhaul: Twitch has also started allowing some sexual content that was previously restricted, as long as it uses appropriate Content Classification Labels (CCLs) that indicate sexual themes.
Content that says “breasts, buttocks, or pelvic area are intentionally highlighted” is now permitted, as is content that features “fictionalized (drawn, animated, or sculpted) fully exposed female breasts and/or genitals or buttocks regardless of gender.” “Bodywriting on female-presenting breasts and/or or buttocks, regardless of gender.” Streamers can also tag content featuring “erotic dances that involve undressing or undressing gestures, such as striptease.”
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These labels ensure that content is not removed, but also prevent adult content from being promoted on the homepage, Hession wrote, ensuring that no Twitch user ever encounters inappropriate content that they do not want to see. The only exceptions will be made for streams marked as adult gaming and profanity content, which will still appear in the main feed on the homepage. However, streams with sexually themed labels are still recommended in the left bar of the homepage, where no thumbnail is displayed.
“We believe that accurate content labeling is key to giving viewers the experience they expect, and now that we can enable appropriate labeling of sexual content using CCLs, we believe some of the limitations in our previous policies are no longer necessary,” Hession wrote . “These updates not only provide clarity, but also reduce the risk of inconsistent enforcement and better align our policy with other social media services.”
Failure to flag sexual content can result in penalties such as warnings, but not suspensions, Hession wrote. Twitch automatically assigns labels to sexual content that lacks labels, and any repeated failure to label content may result in the label being “temporarily banned from streaming.”
Some sexual content remains prohibited, including pornographic content, youth nudity, “fictionalized sexual acts or masturbation,” and “simulated sexual activity or erotic role-playing with other players in online games.” Uploading such prohibited content may result in content removal or account suspension. A full overview of what is still banned can be found here.
For many Twitch users, changes to its sexual content policy seem long overdue. Although her ban is reportedly still in effect, Morgpie praised Twitch's update in a statement to Dexerto.
“With the updated Terms of Service, content on Twitch that contains adult themes is allowed, but will no longer be pushed on the site's homepage,” Morgpie told Dexerto. “I think this is the best possible outcome because it gives creators a lot more freedom while preventing this content from reaching the wrong audience. Bravo, Twitch!”