Twitch relaxes policy around sexually suggestive and explicit content

Livestream platform Twitch has announced that it is relaxing its policy on sexual content. Drawn nudity and sexually suggestive content, among other things, are now allowed. However, such live streams do not appear on the front page.

Content that ‘deliberately emphasizes breasts, buttocks or the pubic area, even with clothes on’, is now allowed on Twitch, let the livestream platform know. According to Twitch, the previous policy surrounding such sexually suggestive content was “not in accordance with industry standards,” which would result in a “disproportionately harsh punishment” for users who streamed such content. Nipples and genitals are also not allowed to be shown under the new rules.

However, drawn, animated or sculpted nudity is now fully permitted, provided no sexual acts are depicted. An exception applies to the so-called V-Tubers. These are animated avatars that convert the movements of real people into a digital character. The same rules apply to them as to regular streamers. Furthermore, streams with erotic dancing ‘involving undressing or making undressing gestures, such as stripteases’, are permitted on Twitch under the new rules.

However, such sexually suggestive or explicit content must be accompanied by a ‘Sexual Themes label’. Such labels were already introduced last June. Another change being implemented simultaneously is that livestreams with such a label will no longer appear on the front page. This applies not only to the label for sexual themes, but also to the labels for drugs, violence and gambling.

The maximum penalty for not applying a label is that Twitch will automatically apply the label to all streams from that account for a period of several days or weeks. Account suspensions for unlabeling streams or sharing streams will not happen. Twitch also announces that from now on, a Sexual Themes label no longer needs to be added for ‘popular dances such as twerking, grinding and pole dancing’.