Twitch Updates Nudity Rules

Amazon-owned Twitch has announced that the livestreaming platform has updated its community [...]

By Rollin Bishop

Amazon-owned Twitch has announced that the livestreaming platform has updated its community guidelines on nudity and attire after "months' worth of work to ensure we are doing right by [its] community." Essentially, there are now more expansive guidelines as well as situational exceptions for activities like swimming, body art, and breastfeeding, among others. The hope here seems to be to provide a more thorough guideline for streamers to follow rather than have them guessing at whether they'll earn a ban for whatever it is they're doing.

"Historically, to address the variety of situations and content on Twitch, our policy on Nudity and Attire focused on context," Twitch states as part of a blog post announcing the policy update. "We've heard from our community, however, that our policy isn't clear enough about what is and is not allowed on stream, and in particular that more detail is needed for streams like body art or outdoor streams. We want to be more transparent and consistent about our expectations, so today we're rolling out an update to our Nudity and Attire policy that outlines detailed examples of what is and is not permitted."

The update comes in the wake of years and years of streamers getting banned for activities like cosplaying and more. In the past, streamers have argued that the previous guidelines were far too broad and ended up being applied in uneven ways, especially to those that present as women on the platform. It's unclear whether the new guidelines will go far enough to address these concerns, but it does seem like Twitch is actively interested in doing so.

Here are the new standard guidelines for Twitch's Nudity and Attire policy:

  • We don't permit streamers to be fully or partially nude, including exposing genitals or buttocks. We do not permit the visible outline of genitals, even when covered. Broadcasting nude or partially nude minors is always prohibited, regardless of context.
  • For those who present as women, we ask that you cover your nipples. We do not permit exposed underbust. Cleavage is unrestricted as long as these coverage requirements are met.
  • For all streamers, you must cover the area extending from your waist to the bottom of your pelvis and buttocks.
  • 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.
  • Augmented reality avatars that translate real-life movement into digital characters are subject to this standard, as is cosplay and other costumes. For details on how this policy applies to IRL, outdoors, and body art, please continue reading.

Additionally, Twitch has added a number of different situational guidelines that are more dependent on context, though the company says that the list is not exhaustive and will obviously expand in the future as new situations arise:

  • IRL streaming
  • Swim and beaches, concerts and festivals
  • Body art
  • Context transitions
  • Embedded media, studio and other Twitch-endorsed content
  • Breastfeeding

What do you think of Twitch's new policies? Do you think it will actually help in the long run? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

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