Twitch has tightened its rules around streams that include discussions of “sensitive social” and “political” topics.
In a statement, Twitch said that while it is a place “for people to express themselves and discuss the world around them,” from now on, any stream that includes discussions about war, religion or “reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights or immigration” needs to be labeled.
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“Twitch is a place for people to express themselves and discuss the world around them,” Twitch explained.
“We require tagging of broadcasts when the focus of the broadcast includes discussions and debates about sensitive political or social issues, such as discussions of elections, civic integrity, war or military conflict, and civil rights.”
Examples of content that require a rating label include broadcasts featuring current or former political officials if the content includes discussions with these individuals about public policy, live coverage or commentary on elections, civic processes or election-related disputes, and broadcasts live from protests, rallies. , or civil unrest related to civil rights issues or government policies.
Also subject to additional tags are discussions of military conflicts, foreign policy decisions or national security matters, and discussion of ideological or sociopolitical views on topics such as gender, race, sexuality or religion.
“Discussing legislation related to a sensitive social issue such as reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or immigration” is also subject to tags.
“For example, sharing the story of how votes are counted in the US presidential election to determine the next president, or simply encouraging people to vote or register to vote,” Twitch explained. “Intermittent mentions of politics, politicians, or sensitive social issues do not need to be labeled Politics and Sensitive Social Issues.”
The changes come after a difficult few weeks for the live-streaming giant, which has faced accusations of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
“There is no place on Twitch for racism, hate, or harassment of any kind, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” CEO Dan Clancy said in a supplemental statement. “As our community has grown, we have worked to create community guidelines to prohibit these harms.”
Last week, Twitch apologized for preventing the registration of new accounts from Israel and Palestine due to the ongoing conflict. It said the logs were temporarily disabled following the October 7, 2023, attacks to “prevent the upload of graphic material related to the attack and protect the safety of users.” However, until recently this verification had not been re-enabled.