Amazon-owned game broadcasting platform Twitch has a new dress code aimed at tackling perceived sexual content.
The firm says users need to dress as they would in public due to the wide range of ages and cultural norms represented within the user base.
Essentially, the company is referring to the so-called ‘bikini streamers’, whose gaming endeavours are augmented by a distinct absence of clothing.
It’s a common and lucrative tactic deployed to help increase subscriber counts and encourage donations from excitable gaming enthusiasts.
Related: PS4 vs PS4 Pro
Now, in a blog post, the company has explained its new family-friendly policy.
It writes: “Twitch is an open global community with users of many ages and cultures. Because of this, it’s important that your content is not sexual in nature.
“Attire in gaming streams, most at-home streams, and all profile/channel imagery should be appropriate for a public street, mall, or restaurant.”
We suppose that depends on where you live. It’s not uncommon to see someone dressed like this at the local malls or restaurants in my south Florida neighbourhood, that’s for sure.
The company said it’ll be looking at the camera angles (which is where the above from Amouranth might fall foul perhaps?) used by streamers, as well as the attire. These contextual elements will also be based upon chat moderation, emotes, overlays, and the stream title.
The new rules will come into effect later this month. The company advises users to remove any saved clips that’d be deemed inappropriate under the new guidelines.
Hateful behaviour
As part of the clean up, Twitch is looking to do more to tackle harassment and hateful behaviours.
The company wrote: “First, conduct we deem to be hateful will result in an immediate indefinite suspension. Hate simply has no place in the Twitch community.
“Additionally, we will now consider verifiable hateful or harassing conduct that takes place off-Twitch when making moderation decisions for actions that occur on Twitch. If you use other services to direct hate or harassment towards someone on Twitch, we will consider it a violation of Twitch’s policies.”
Do you think Twitch is right to clean up the platform? Or are the new policies a little too Draconian? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
