The latest update to Twitch’s community guidelines is oddly specific. According to the update, starting March 29th, “content that focuses on intimate body parts for a prolonged period of time will not be allowed.”
Technology
Twitch bans turning butts and boobs into green screens
Twitch will ban content that “focuses on intimate body parts for a prolonged period of time,” in response to the trend of streamers projecting gameplay on their chest or buttocks.
The move is, without a doubt, a targeted response to the new Twitch “meta” wherein streamers project gameplay onto a green-screened part of their bodies, specifically the breasts or buttocks.
The trend was popularized by Morgpie, a creator known for pushing the boundaries of Twitch’s streaming policies. Earlier this month, she streamed herself playing Fortnite with the gameplay projected on her butt. During her stream today, she wore a green screen cut-out shirt making her head and chest the only parts of her a viewer could see. Others capitalized on the new meta by projecting gameplay on various body parts, but with today’s announcement, such activity will become a bannable offense.
This is the latest in a string of updates in which Twitch has had to play catch-up with the platform’s more risqué content creators. In December, Twitch relaxed it’s nudity policy to allow “deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks or pelvic region,” so long as the stream had the appropriate content label. The company immediately rescinded the policy after streamers pushed the boundaries of it, stating, “Upon reflection, we have decided that we went too far with this change.” Then, in January, Twitch updated its guidelines again to ban implied nudity after creators, including Morgpie, streamed themselves at angles that suggested they weren’t wearing clothes.
This latest guideline goes into effect March 29th. It will only be a matter of time before streamers figure out a new way to get around it.