Twitch is permitting adult material such as nude drawings and sculptures – providing it is deemed artistic.
The Amazon-owned streaming site has expanded its guidelines to include the streaming of videos highlighting private areas, with the move part of Twitch's effort to overhaul its previous rules surrounding sexual content, aiming to provide more clarity for both content creators and viewers.
Angela Hession, Twitch's vice president of customer trust, acknowledged the challenges faced by streamers in interpreting the platform's rules, and said in a blog post about the update: “We have received consistent feedback from streamers... that it can be difficult to know how their content will be interpreted.
"We want streamers to feel confident they understand our rules and viewers to feel confident they will get the experience they expect."
While the platform maintains a comprehensive ban on pornographic material, the updated policy reflects a more nuanced approach to artistic expression.
Under the previous regulations, explicit content, including drawings, sculptures, and body painting, faced uncertainty regarding permissibility. Twitch, known for hosting a huge gaming community, also hosts diverse creative expressions, leading to confusion about the acceptability of certain content. The company now recognizes that the prior policy was overly restrictive, particularly in its impact on the thriving artist community on the platform.
The key change involves the introduction of content creation labels on specific streams, requiring viewer consent before accessing such content.
With this adjustment, many previously prohibited forms of content, including those deliberately highlighting body parts and erotic dances involving clothing removal, are now allowed, provided they are appropriately labeled.
Twitch acknowledges the approach addresses the issues created by the previous rules, preventing the restriction of activities like "twerking at a wedding" or pole dancing in exercise classes.
To enforce these new guidelines, Twitch will issue warnings to streamers who fail to correctly label their content, ensuring appropriate categorisation for a more transparent and inclusive streaming environment.
The comprehensive policy shift is said to reflect Twitch's commitment to accommodating a diverse range of creative expressions while maintaining a balance with community standards and expectations.
