Are Twitch’s new sexual content policies enough to protect our children?
On April 7th, Twitch unveiled new livestreaming policies for its service, specifically aimed at sexual content and nudity on the platform. The full details of the new policies can be viewed here, but in summary they seek to focus on a “standard level of coverage,”[1] stopping genitals, buttocks, and female nipples from being exposed in almost all situations, extending to virtual avatars.
While this does offer an update on its already comprehensive guidelines relating to live streaming policies, and clarifies certain rules that streamers have had issues with, the very nature of live streaming on Twitch does mean content it not moderated during the stream, and any consequences for the streamers are done after a violation. Additionally, the age minimum for streaming on Twitch is 13, however this is difficult to police and it is possible to create content at a younger age.
One glaring issue we noted with how the new update may relate to underage children is the ‘unrestricted cleavage’ clause, where as long as nipples remain covered, there is no limit on this type of provocative look, resulting in children creating content that shows this pseudo-explicit content to others.
So what does this all mean?
The Twitch platform launched in 2011, and has been growing in popularity ever since, bringing pro and amateur gaming and streamers to screens everywhere, letting enthusiasts of all ages not only view but create their own content that can be seen by the world.
Although difficult to pinpoint exact numbers of users under 18, given the massive number of monthly users (over 2.2 Million concurrent viewers in April of 2020, and over 5 million active streamers in March 2020[2]) and the statistic that only 55% of users fall between the ages of 18–34[3], it is very likely that a significant number of users are underage.
While the age of users is not inherently an issue, an article written by Dr Tamasine Preece, the head of personal and social education at Brytirion Comprehensive School in Wales, discusses how YouTube influencers have gained popularity among young children even though they can often promote cruel or incorrect information on their channels simply because children have not developed the critical thinking and understanding that the actions taken to get views are not always acceptable[4]. Furthermore, when looking at how online stars influence retail, stating that “more than half (55%) of children aged 6 to 16 say they want to buy a product if their favourite YouTube or Instagram star is using or wearing it.”[5] This immense level of influence on the younger generation by internet stars show just how susceptible children can be to the actions of those they watch on streams and videos.
Going back to the focus of child abuse imagery and nudity on Twitch, if kids watching live streams are influenced by what they can see and how many views a streamer is getting, such as provocative and even naked individuals on a popular stream getting likes, there is a real chance they may look copy this type behavior and produce indecent images themselves.
This influenced behavior is certainly something we want to avoid, as current live streaming sites like Twitch do not moderate live actions, and once media is uploaded it can be spread, increasing the amount of indecent images of children.
While twitch may be doing a good job of limiting and preventing child abuse on their platform (albeit not in real time), and does not appear to have a significant problem with this currently, many other live streaming sites do not. Because of the massive influence of these sites on the world’s youth who want to create and stream their own content, the problem of self-uploaded child abuse imagery, and streamed child abuse, is still a problem that needs to be addressed and eliminated.
Please refer to this Net-Aware info page for further information about speaking to kids and making not only them, but you more aware of what Twitch is and how it is used.
Sources
[1] https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2020/04/07/update-to-our-nudity-and-attire-policy/
[2] https://twitchtracker.com/statistics
[3] https://www.businessofapps.com/data/twitch-statistics/
[4] https://www.internetmatters.org/blog/2017/06/01/youtubers-influencing-children/
[5] https://internetretailing.net/marketing/marketing/kids-more-influenced-by-youtube-and-insta-stars-than-ever--and-want-them-to-become-retailers-20203
