Twitch updates sexual content guidelines amid ‘topless’ meta backlash - Dexerto
www.dexerto.com
Twitch has updated its guidelines on sexual content following mass outrage over a new 'topless' meta that gained popularity on the site.

Twitch Updated their Sexual Content Policy:

  • Changes: Certain content now allowed with labels
  • Artistic Nudity: Permitted under Sexual Themes Label
  • Game Nudity: Contextual; labels necessary
  • Body Painting: Acceptable with appropriate label
  • Mature Games: Label generally covers content
  • Stream Visibility: Impacted by content labels
  • Twerking, grinding and pole dancing are now allowed without a label.

Via https://twitter.com/Dexerto/status/1735024184114245689

  • businessfish@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    142·
    11 months ago

    i think the problem a lot of people (myself included) have specifically with nudity on twitch is with the streamers whose streams are basically just porn. now there’s nothing inherently wrong with porn, nudity, or sex work on the internet or in real life, but the issue comes in when you put people who are essentially sex workers on the same video game streaming site many young people visit for non-sexual content. now porn is available and popular on their favorite game streaming site, and it is being forcibly recommended to users who have never browsed that category of content on twitch before.

    pretty much all i watch on twitch is super mario 64 speedruns, but 9/10 times when i log in my first recommended channel is a streamer with their tits out doing jumping jacks in a hot tub or something. i can only imagine this is happening to a large percentage of other users as well, including younger users who could be easily manipulated by an attractive and interactive woman online heavily incentivizing them to donate money.

    it basically boils down to: i don’t care that porn is on the site, but it should not be recommended to people who are not already browsing that content as that is not what i’m there to see.

    edit - re-reading the changes, i’m hoping that the stream visibility and content label changes would fix this issue.

    • InquisitiveApathy@lemm.eeEnglish
      61·
      11 months ago

      This is essentially how I see it also.

      The changes over the years allowing non-gaming content have allowed some really cool stuff to be showcased, but it also opened the floodgates for a lot of low effort softcore camgirls. I’m cool with sex workers making a living, but it would be nice to filter them out. Twitch has done a lot of work on discovery over the past year or two that’s been positive at least even if the site is awful when not logged in.

      I think the impact of these changes will really depend on the how Twitch chooses to allow monetization. Given the changes to aggressive ad-focused monetization recently I think that will be the big decider for what this means.

      • Th3D3k0y@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        11 months ago

        Unfiltered visibility of things is usually my problem and concern for my kids on video platforms.

    • LeadersAtWork@lemmy.worldBEnglish
      2·
      11 months ago

      Thanks for the measured response! I can agree with this. There is inherently nothing wrong with nudity or sex in general. In fact a healthy relationship with nudity and sex likely supports good development. I don’t need to go much further to support this argument than to point out the myriads of people damaged from strict religious upbringings. That said, it does need to be filtered and enforced properly. Buried even where it had to be actually found, or specific settings activated that are otherwise automatically turned off.

      I think if these and/or similar steps were done many of us wouldn’t be bothered.