Twitch streams on “political and sensitive issues,” including “reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights,” now require a tag

UPDATE 5/11/24: Twitch has updated its controversial rules around tagging streams that focus on “political and sensitive topics” after its earlier statement setting out new requirements raised eyebrows.

In an update issued last night, on the eve of the US presidential election, Twitch said it had “made some updates” to its “politics language to better clarify what requires a ‘Politics and Sensitive Social Issues’ Content Classification Label ( CCL).

Twitch previously described the kinds of “Sensitive Social Issues” that would warrant its warning label as including discussions of religion, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration. Now Twitch has said it wanted to make clear that labels would not apply if a streamer is discussing their “live experience” or if discussion of those topics is not the “focus” of the stream.

Why is Twitch so keen on streamers labeling their broadcasts? The company says it wants both viewers and brands — in other words, companies that spend money to advertise on the platform — to have better visibility into what a streamer might be discussing.

“Our goal here, as with any CCL, is to give viewers and brands more information about what’s happening on a particular stream,” said Twitch, “so they can make an informed decision about what to watch and where to must engage”.

ORIGINAL STORY 2/11/24: Twitch has tightened its rules around broadcasts that include debates about “political” and “sensitive social issues.”

In one declarationTwitch said that while it is a place “for people to express themselves and discuss the world around them,” any stream that includes discussions about war, religion, or “reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or immigration” must henceforth be flagged.

“Twitch is a place where people can express themselves and discuss the world around them,” Twitch explained.

“We require streams to be labeled when the focus of the stream includes discussions and debates about political or sensitive social issues such as discussions of elections, civil integrity, war or military conflict, and civil rights.”

Examples of content requiring a classification label include streams featuring former or current political officials if the content includes discussions with those individuals about public policy, live coverage or commentary on elections, civil processes or election-related disputes, and live streams of protests, rallies, or civil unrest in connection with civil rights issues or government policies.

Also subject to additional labeling are discussions of military conflicts, foreign policy decisions, or national security issues, and discussion of ideological or socio-political 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 etiquette.

However, “Streams that contain informational or educational content that aims to share knowledge in a neutral, fact-based manner rather than engage in any form of advocacy for an issue or candidate” are not subject to labeling.

“For example, sharing the story of how votes in the US presidential election are counted to determine the next president, or simply encouraging individuals to vote or register to vote,” Twitch explained. “Intermittent mentions of politics, politicians or sensitive social issues are not required to be labeled Politics and sensitive social issues.”

The changes come after a trying few weeks for the live streaming giant, which has found itself facing accusations of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

“There is no place on Twitch for racism, hatred or harassment of any kind, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” CEO Dan Clancy said in a supplementary declaration. “As our community has grown, we have endeavored to build community guidelines to prohibit these harms.”

“Twitch is and always will be about belonging. Every day people come together on our service to build communities around shared interests and to express themselves authentically. To make this possible, we work hard to ensure that our community is a safe place.”

“Millions of streamers, with a wide range of views and perspectives, spend time on Twitch. We recognize that some content, even if permitted on our service, may be offensive to some members of our community. Views shared by streamers on Twitch, are not the views of Twitch, nor are they my personal views.” We are grateful for feedback and input from our community,” concluded Clancy “Our security approach continues to build and evolve as our service grows. We want to make sure everyone can find their place on Twitch, and remain committed to making sure hate and harassment have no place here.”

Last week, Twitch issued an apology for preventing new account signups from Israel and Palestine due to the ongoing conflict. It said sign-ups were temporarily disabled after the attacks on October 7, 2023 to “prevent uploads of graphic material related to the attack and to protect user security”. Until recently, however, this verification had not been reactivated.