In a move to provide better nuance and clarity in its content moderation practices, Twitch is introducing a new set of topic-specific labels that will replace its existing mature content toggle. The change aims to make it easier for streamers to signal when their channels contain certain types of mature themes, such as sexual content or graphic violence.
The New Label System
Twitch has announced the introduction of six new labels that will be applied to streams containing:
- Sexual Themes: Content intended to draw attention to an individual’s buttocks, groin, or breasts for a prolonged time.
- Graphic Violence: Depictions of graphic violence, including but not limited to, gore, bloodshed, and intense action sequences.
- Drugs, Intoxication, or Excessive Tobacco Use: Content that promotes or glorifies the use of illicit substances, intoxication, or excessive tobacco consumption.
- Gambling: Streams that feature games with real-world monetary rewards or betting systems.
- Significant Profanity or Vulgarity: Content that contains frequent or extreme profanity or vulgarity.
These labels will be dynamic and can be added or removed throughout a stream as needed. This means that if only a short segment of a five-hour livestream contains sexual-themed content, the label can be toggled on and then off again for that portion of the stream.
How the Labels Will Be Applied
Twitch has published a deep dive into its guidelines for applying the new labels, which provides hyper-specific insights into what types of content will trigger each label. For example, continuously licking a microphone for the duration of the stream will be considered a sexual theme, while using terms like "fk," "ct," or "p***y" in every other sentence will earn you a label.
What This Means for Streamers
Streamers won’t receive account suspensions for failing to apply the relevant labels. However, Twitch will issue warnings and may eventually apply a label lock for a period of days or weeks to a streamer’s channel. While the threat of a ban isn’t imminent, streamers will want to play by the new rules to avoid that fate.
The Goal of the New Label System
Twitch aims to make its platform friendlier to young users and help advertisers navigate the kind of content they want to appear next to while generally communicating more information about what viewers can expect from a given channel in terms of content and tone. The new labels are designed to provide better nuance and clarity in content moderation, making it easier for streamers to signal when their channels contain mature themes.
Streamers’ Reaction
The streaming community will likely have mixed reactions to the changes. Some may see the new label system as a welcome improvement, while others may view it as overly restrictive or burdensome. A handful of recent decisions at Twitch have prompted backlash and even backtracking from the company, so it remains to be seen how this change will be received.
The Implementation Timeline
Streamers will have a bit of a grace period to learn the ropes. Warnings issued for the next month (until July 20) won’t pile up and trigger a locked account label, but those instances will result in the relevant label being applied. This 30-day period is designed to help streamers calibrate their understanding of what content is allowed and what requires labeling.
The Future of Twitch’s Content Moderation
Twitch’s new label system marks an important step forward in its efforts to provide better nuance and clarity in content moderation. By providing more specific guidelines for applying labels, the platform aims to make it easier for streamers to signal when their channels contain mature themes while also protecting users from exposure to unwanted content.
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Note: This article provides a neutral summary of the changes to Twitch’s mature content flagging system and does not express any opinions or biases towards the platform or its policies.
