To make it easier for artists to know whether to flag their streams as mature, Twitch has added additional categories for “mature content” like cursing, gambling, and sexual themes.
Twitch has long offered the option to designate your channel as mature, making it accessible exclusively to users who are at least 18 years old. Twitch has however discovered a method to make the existing feature more precise because many people have been perplexed about when to enable it. The new approach, which the Amazon-owned platform has named Content Classification Labels, provides users with a more specific description and a limited number of possibilities.
On June 20, 2023, Twitch published a blog post detailing the new modifications to the platform’s mature content labelling. They specifically state that their Community Guidelines have not changed in the message.
Instead, they’ve updated the toggle for mature content with more precise labeling that should be utilized whenever their stream contains any of the following:
- Mature-Rated Games
- Sexual Themes
- Drugs, Intoxication, or Excessive Tobacco use
- Violent and Graphic Depictions
- Significant Profanity or Vulgarity
- Gambling
Each of these elements is covered in more depth on the Twitch rules page, which also provides instances in which labeling is not necessary.
The blog also states that identifying your stream is required, albeit doing so will not result in punishments for streamers. Instead, users who disregard warnings to label their streams may automatically receive the correct label without the option to remove it. According to the amount of past warnings, suitable labels may be assigned to streamers’ channels and may be locked for a period of days or weeks if they continue to fail to accurately label their content.
This is only the most recent adjustment Twitch has made in recent weeks. Early in June, Twitch unveiled revised Branded Content Guidelines, which were only in effect for one day before the business reversed course.
