Never two without three, now Twitch is changing its mind again on nudity

Twitch, the famous streaming platform owned by Amazon, has once again announced new rules related to nudity. From now on, it is no longer even a question of suggesting it.

Shortly before mid-December, Twitch announced a new policy regarding content featuring so-called artistic nudity. Provided certain rules were respected, freedom was required for a lot of content. A major change carried by several streamers, which was quickly undermined by certain excesses and the way Twitch presents live broadcasts on its home page. The rules were therefore very quickly modified, before experiencing further modifications in recent days.

Twitch changes its mind again: clothing required!

How to regulate and moderate artistic suggestive content? Twitch has been asking this question for many months and took a big step towards more freedom in terms of nudity in December. But all this now seems to be history, because the platform has just published its conditions of use again. Since the introduction of the new rules, and their modification, many steamers have played with the rules to suggest nudity.

With a good angle which ultimately showed nothing, the streamer Morgpie, for example, left doubt about her nudity. Others followed suit, in order to play as much as possible with the rules without transgressing them. Faced with this new “meta”, Twitch has decided to tighten the screw. From now on, any streamer must clearly show that they are wearing clothing under penalty of sanctions. In a blog article published on January 3, we can read:

“ We do not allow creators to imply or suggest that they are fully or partially nude, or to cover their breasts or private parts with objects. We also no longer allow the suggested visibility of private parts, even when covered. And in all cases, broadcasting while naked or partially naked is prohibited, regardless of the context. […] »

Twitch reminds, however, for all intents and purposes, that people presenting themselves as women must cover their nipples and not expose their “underboob”. Necklines are obviously still permitted, as long as it is obvious that clothing is being worn.

Twitch and nudity, a tumultuous relationship

Since its creation, Twitch has always had rules that could be considered puritanical. Creators, and streamers in particular, have managed to change the rules so that swimsuit lives become a category of their own. The platform saw its interest in it, but it didn’t matter, things were moving. In December, Twitch wanted to modify its rules to clarify the situation around nudity and avoid case-by-case management that could be perceived as unfair. In a first publication, Twitch therefore authorized streams highlighting breasts, buttocks and the pelvic region, real or not, on the condition of remaining within the rules defining “artistic nudity”.

The so-called erotic dances just had to be accompanied by an explicit mention, while the pole dancing and the twerking were no longer subject to any labeling. However, sexual acts, as well as content whose subject is nudity, sexual violence or pornography, remained prohibited. Content creators therefore rushed into the breach and suggestive streams multiplied. Two days later, the platform backtracked, believing it had gone too far and fearing that content generated by AI, like deepfakesbecome problematic.

It must be said that the home page, supposed not to display this content, was very quickly filled with suggestive thumbnails, a real concern for a platform to which access is authorized from 13 years old. Faced with a very concrete inability to judge what is artistic or not, Twitch preferred to stop everything or almost everything. The rapid adaptation of content creators has given rise to a new trend, which Twitch has just swept away.

Source : Techcrunch