Twitch’s ‘artistic nudity’ policy rolled back days after it was introduced

18.12.2023 - 19:33 / polygon.com / Dan Clancy

Twitch very quickly rolled back its recent updates to its sexual content policy. On Dec. 15, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy reverted some of its new rules — specifically the ones concerning “artistic nudity” on the platform. Artists initially excited about the policy told Polygon they’re confused and disappointed by the rollback.

Twitch originally updated its sexual content policy just days before, on Dec. 13. This update was seemingly in response to outcry over the “topless meta,” where streamers implied nudity by framing a camera such that they looked topless, with the frame cutting off at chest level, above the nipple. Twitch clarified on Dec. 13 in its original statement that this was OK, as long as streamers did not engage in overtly sexual gestures. Twitch streamer and OnlyFans model Morgpie was banned by Twitch after one such stream, but she clarified on X (formerly Twitter) that she had been banned for “off-screen [boob] clapping,” rather than the “topless meta.”

Also on Dec. 13, Twitch announced that art with “a focus on fictionalized (drawn, animated, or sculpted) sexual body parts regardless of gender,” like live nude figure drawing, was also now allowed on the platform. Still, it had to be labeled correctly under “Sexual Themes” — which would keep it off of Twitch’s homepage — and couldn’t contain “fictionalized sexual acts or masturbation.” Artists were thrilled.

One Twitch artist, who goes by Fuululuu online, told Polygon they were relieved when Twitch had initially expanded its sexual content policy for artists. “This [terms of service] change impacts artists like me who have consistently felt like they had a shadow over them as they tried to create not knowing how far is too far,” Fuululuu said. “When drawing a piece, usually you have to start with a nude base to understand how the clothing falls. Was that breaking ToS? Who knows? Because previously, the Twitch terms of service was not clear on what cases of nudity were actually a ban-able offense.”

Hours after Fuululuu spoke to Polygon, the rules were reversed, with “depictions of real or fictional nudity” no longer permitted on Twitch “regardless of the medium.” In a follow-up conversation, Fuululuu said they were disappointed to see the news. “Artists are not taken seriously in many spaces IRL and online,” they said. “Artistic nudity is necessary to the creative process, but people immediately go right to sexualization and fetish. This ruins everything for everyone.”

Clancy said, in his Dec. 15 post about the policy change, that there were some streamers who broke the rules, and Twitch worked quickly to remove that content. But there was a lot of content that was within the rules that was still “met with community concern.” Several Twitch