Image: Twitch
No more well-placed censor bars.
Twitch has released an update for its sexual content guidelines to ban implied nudity in livestreams, effective immediately. This is Twitch’s way of combating what it calls, “a recent meta,” of streamers using censor bars and random items to imply nudity on camera thanks to a loophole in the sexual content policy.
An official blog post from Twitch noted that while these streams were appropriately given the ‘Sexual Themes’ label so they wouldn’t pop up on the home page, their thumbnails were still displayed within the category browse directories. To ensure users don’t run into such thumbnails while browsing for other content, Twitch is tightening up its attire policy.
Twitch’s new content guidelines ban implied nudity
Twitch’s new content guidelines serve to “prohibit implied nudity while streaming on Twitch,” according to a recent blog post. The new guidelines will restrict streamers from appearing in the nude - implied, half, or otherwise - in all content categories besides the ‘Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches’ category. Twitch specifies that streamers have strict attire requirements too:
For those areas of the body where coverage is required, the coverage must be fully opaque; sheer or partially see-through clothing does not constitute coverage. Note also, that streamers must appropriately categorize their content. For example, streamers that use the attire exception that is granted when streaming near a pool or a hot tub, are expected to use the “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches” category when classifying this content.
The company also notes that while it can reclassify streams into the appropriate category at times, repeated failure by streamers to do so themselves will lead to, “an enforcement action.” Twitch is also working on blurring thumbnails for content under the ‘Sexual Themes’ label, and personal user settings for everyone to filter the streams they see based on their own preferences. For now, however, the recent trend of streamers using, “black censor bars or other items to block their bodies or clothing, or position the camera frame such that the viewer is led to believe that the streamer is fully or partially nude,” has met its end.
The community guidelines ask for streamers presenting as women to, “cover your nipples and do not expose underbust. Cleavage is unrestricted as long as these coverage requirements are met and it is clear that the streamer is wearing clothing.” Male-presenting streamers do not appear to be under the same restrictions.
Twitch has been making regular adjustments to its sexual content policy with mixed results. Recently, the policy allowed for artistic nudity only for that loophole to be abused by users streaming AI-generated nudity, before it was swiftly amended. Streamers then discovered a workaround using black censor bars to imply nudity, which has led to this latest change in the content guidelines.