In a rapid turnaround, Twitch, the renowned game streaming service, recently backpedalled on its decision to allow “artistic nudity” on its platform.
This reversal comes shortly after the initial announcement, which introduced a more lenient stance on certain forms of sexual content.
Twitch explains why it reversed its ‘artistic nudity’ policy
Twitch initially announced a policy that would permit certain forms of sexual content, including depictions of breasts, buttocks, pelvic regions, fictionalised female bodies, body writing, and erotic dances under the umbrella of artistic nudity.
However, this policy shift quickly faced backlash, leading to its prompt retraction.
Dan Clancy, Twitch’s CEO, declared the rollback of the artistic nudity changes, emphasising that moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity would not be permitted on Twitch, regardless of the medium.
He acknowledged that the content created under the new guidelines not only violated the policy but also raised community concerns.
Reflecting on the situation, Clancy admitted that the platform might have gone too far with the change.
He highlighted the challenges in distinguishing between digital art and photography, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence technologies capable of creating realistic images and deepfakes.
“So, effective today, we are rolling back the artistic nudity changes. Moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium,” he said.
The initial change was designed with specific conditions: broadcasts containing artistic nudity were to be tagged with an appropriate Content Classification Label, aiming to shield minors and uninterested audiences from adult content.
Despite these measures, the policy received significant pushback from the community, prompting Twitch to reconsider its approach.
Despite the brief foray into more relaxed rules regarding artistic nudity, Twitch maintains its prohibition on video games featuring nudity, pornography, sex, or sexual violence as a core focus or feature.
The platform continues to allow the broadcasting of mature games, adhering to the ratings provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.