You knew that changes were coming to Twitch after their billion-dollar purchase by Amazon. However, changes so far have been fairly minimal. Sure, there’s the content ID on VODs but it beats the haphazard way that YouTube’s content ID and DCMA systems work. And their latest change might seem fairly minimal but it might have a big impact on some streamers with this week’s changes to the rules of conduct.

The two changes to Twitch’s Rules of Conduct revolve around what Twitch called “self destructive behaviour” and “sexually suggestive” clothing and behaviour.

Twitch refers to self-destructive behaviour as “harming yourself physically, drinking excessively or endangering yourself in any way while broadcasting.” That’s nothing particularly outlandish and is really in place for Twitch to cover itself from any potential legal issues should someone hurt themselves while on stream.

The change to “sexually suggestive” behaviour and clothing is more interesting because there are a few streamers who have a reputation for wearing clothes (or a lack thereof) to show themselves off with a larger than normal webcam stream to get donations and subscribers. Some people refer to them as being camgirls, a term that you likely know if you’re over the age of 18. And it’s not like they’re not popular. Ten of the top 16 League of Legends VODs feature women in little clothing or showing a lot of cleavage.

The new policy reads: “Wearing no clothing or sexually suggestive clothing – including lingerie, swimsuits, pasties, and undergarments – will most likely get you suspended, as well as any full nude torsos, which applies to both male and female broadcasters.” The policy reads in such a way that they’re trying to sell the games and personalities being streamed on the quality of content rather than having it be just about the looks of the broadcaster.

Okay, this is really a nothing news update but it can affect some streamers, including those you might watch. It will be interesting to see if this is a case of Twitch trying to appeal to all ages on its own or if this is an Amazon ordered clean-up of some aspects of the site. Then again, this could be some publishers wanting a change in how their game is portrayed, directly or indirectly, alongside streamers. Eventually, the reasoning behind the change will come out and that’s what I want to know about.

Source: Twitch