Twitch changes content guidelines after ‘topless’ stream backlash
The streaming platform announced its changes so users 'feel confident they understand [its] rules'
Twitch has announced updates to its content guidelines after user Morgpie was banned for seemingly appearing topless on the platform.
The streamer became a topic of discussion over the weekend after she addressed viewers on Twitch with her bare upper collarbones and shoulders on show.
Just a few days after the stream, Morgpie was banned because she had allegedly violated Twitch's guidelines on Adult Nudity, which prohibit women from showing 'breasts with exposed nipples' unless they are 'actively breastfeeding a child'.
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However, Morgpie has since pointed out that no nudity was explicitly broadcast during her stream.
Her appearance formed part of a new 'meta' on Twitch in which streamers fake nudity in an effort to get more viewers, and Morpie told Dexerto she was simply wearing a low-cut top which could not be seen on camera.
The streamer expressed belief Twitch was 'banning a lot of girls' due to the meta, saying they 'kind of want to put a lid on it'.
Twitch has now responded by announcing an update on its 'approach to sexual content', with a release stating that it has received 'consistent feedback' that its current policies are 'confusing'.
It added that its previous Sexually Suggestive Content policy 'resulted in female-presenting streamers being disproportionately penalized', so has announced some major changes.
Among the changes to the guidelines is the news that some previously prohibited content will now be allowed on the site as long as it is given an appropriate label.
Such content includes 'streams which ‘deliberately highlight breasts, buttocks or pelvic region’, even when fully clothed', and 'fictionalized (drawn, animated, or sculpted) fully exposed female-presenting breasts and/or genitals or buttocks regardless of gender'.
Newly permitted content with a label also includes 'body writing on female-presenting breasts and/or buttocks regardless of gender', and 'erotic dances that involve disrobing or disrobing gestures, such as strip teases'.
"Content with a focus on fictionalized (drawn, animated, or sculpted) sexual body parts regardless of gender (such as doing nude figure drawing) are allowed with a Sexual Themes Label," Twitch adds in its new policy.
"However, fictionalized sexual acts or masturbation remain prohibited."
Dance fans on the platform will be glad to hear that 'popular dances, such as twerking, grinding, and pole dancing', will now also be allowed, even without a label.
Twitch is also set to crack down on the type of content which will appear on its home page, including broadcasts labelled with 'Drugs, Intoxication, or Excessive Tobacco Use; Violent and Graphic Depictions; Gambling; and/or Sexual Themes'.
In order to watch content labelled with a Content Classification Label, users must provide explicit consent before they can start watching the stream.
While the changes will make a lot of Twitch users happy, the platform pointed out that failure to use a correct label will 'result in warnings and the correct CCL will be applied by Twitch to the stream'.
"If you fail to apply the correct CCL repeatedly, the CCL will be temporarily locked onto the stream, but it will not result in a suspension," Twitch said.
Topics: Technology, Twitch, Gaming
Emily Brown