Calls for Twitch to police 'sexual streaming'

[Deleted]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42222939

Scroll through the In Real Life (IRL) section of streaming site Twitch and you could be forgiven for thinking, now and then, that you have landed on a camgirl site.

Scattered among the artists, cooks and professional eaters are a growing band of young women wearing revealing clothing while they game. Some go further and entertain fans by dancing or by doing a series of suggestive exercises, like squats, to tempt people to subscribe to their channel or to hand over Twitch's micro-currency - bits.

Dubbed "booby streamers" these young women have been a feature of Twitch for years but their numbers have grown significantly over the last few months, prompting a wave of complaints.

On social media many parents have posted messages about what their younger children are seeing when they visit the site, expressing alarm at how much of a screen supposedly showing in-game action is focused on a woman's body.

Why dull video streams are big business

In recent weeks, high-profile streamers have complained about Twitch's tolerance of these women and for doing a "poor job" of policing the growing amount of sexual content on the site.

The complaints have prompted a crackdown on women streamers who sell sexual services via their Twitch bio. Some have been suspended or banned for a few days and been made to purge links to places such as Patreon where explicit pictures and shows could be bought.

Some say this is not enough. The "overtly sexual" behaviour on display breaks rules governing what Twitch has said is acceptable.

"Given the way that the rules are worded, these streamers should not be on the site," Steven Bonnell aka Destiny told the BBC.

The IRL section started as a place to show gamers' offline activities

Grey area

Mr Bonnell is one of a small number of streamers with large, dedicated audiences that have quizzed Twitch about why it is not enforcing the letters of its laws - specifically its community guidelines.

These guidelines govern what is permissible on Twitch and they explicitly prohibit "nudity and conduct involving overtly sexual behaviour and/or attire" and the selling of "sexual services".

"It's pretty clear that there are some streamers that step over the line," said Mr Bonnell, "they wear provocative clothing and act provocatively."

Originally, said Mr Bonnell, the IRL section was for streamers who were recording events, such as attending a convention, that did not involve them playing a video game.

"IRL is taking on a culture of its own," he said. "It's become much more sexualised."

Presentational grey line

What is Twitch?

Twitch is a live, video-streaming service focussed on broadcasting people playing computer games.

Recent estimates suggest it has 15 million daily active users and more than 2.2 million people use it to stream their gaming sessions. It has now broadened the content it shows and many artists, board gamers, role-players and others use it to show what they are up to.

Twitch grew out of Justin.tv which was set up as a way for people to broadcast video streams of their lives.

Twitch was bought by Amazon in 2014 for $970m (£723m).

Presentational grey line

Streamer Amouranth said the slew of complaints and comment on social media had led Twitch to step up its enforcement efforts. It has handed out short-term suspensions to streamers reported to be breaking the guidelines.

"With the recent controversy in IRL a lot of things have come under increased scrutiny, hence some streamers finding themselves suddenly afoul of ToS," she told the BBC.

"Twitch certainly has the right to enforce their rules," said Amouranth, adding that it was a "notable grey-area" before the complaints and calls for action from streamers.

Now, she said, many would welcome more clarity on what is and is not permitted on Twitch. Without that, she said, the reason someone had been suspended can be hard to understand.

Her comments were echoed by streamer Anne Munition who said Twitch needed to be more explicit about what counted as acceptable behaviour in many different categories, not just those involving "sexual streamers".

"The community has a hard time agreeing on what exactly that means," she said, adding: "I don't think it's unreasonable to want clarity on what Twitch considers acceptable content."

The lack of clarity was having an effect on all streamers, said Ms Munition, and could lead to harassment and abuse from fans.

A spokesman for Twitch said it did not comment on individual bans nor on whether it had been more active in enforcing its rules of conduct.

He said: "We give our community freedom to express themselves as long as they adhere to our community guidelines."

He added: "If inappropriate behaviour is observed, we encourage viewers to report it since our moderation team reviews all cases."

Mr Bonnell said commercial considerations may eventually determine whether Twitch clarifies what the site is for. Advertisers who see their content running against the controversial streams may soon start to object, he said.

"I do not think we are anywhere near that point yet," he said, "It's going to come down to whether the big advertisers are influenced. If that happens, then Twitch will act."

Something I thought people may find interesting

[oplawlz]

I'm all for it. If these women want to dress in revealing clothes that is fine, but if they are going to stream on twitch it's not their appearance that should be drawing in the views but the content.

If they cant make material that is good enough without using their bodies then they should just go to actual cam girl websites and do their work there.

It is perplexing - I would assume camgirl sites make a lot more money than twitch irl. I could be wrong though /shrug

[Trollhammer]

"Grey area"

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/207972797 - Two hours of tits mid screen.

[Dys]

And they should. Mia Khalifa didn't stop doing porn because it was a good decision. She did it because she found out you can make more money from desperate idiots by wearing provocative clothing rather than getting an xtra-BBC slammed into her vagina.

You don't have to go nude to be a camwhore, Twitch is full of them. If you could actualize Twitch, it'd be 60% money, 40% cum at this point.

[oplawlz]

Twitch made an IRL section. The women aren’t pretending to game anymore, so as long as they are following the sites guidelines, I don’t care what the hell they do on their stream, or how sexy they act/dress.

Honestly, all I hear now is “I’m a desperate guy who can’t control my actions, so you need to remove these women for my sake!”.

Is it straight guys that are mainly complaining about this? For some reason I kinda doubt it.

[the game]

If you don't like what someone is streaming then don't watch it. It's really not that complicated.

[Deleted]

But isn't Twitch mostly aimed for kids and teens? Are these videos tagged as Mature?

[Player Twelve]

But isn't Twitch mostly aimed for kids and teens? Are these videos tagged as Mature?

Wut? Most people watching the streams I watch is in the 20s or 30s from what I've gathered.

[Medusa Cascade]

I have to make a living somehow

[Zelk]

what kind of weirdo cares about this shit

[Super Kami Dende]

Honestly, all I hear now is “I’m a desperate guy who can’t control my actions, so you need to remove these women for my sake!”.

Much of the complaining I've seen has come from other Women Streamers. Unsurprisingly enough.

Though I can see where they are coming from, due to the fact many Female streamers are genuine gamers that don't dress sexually or do overtly flirty shit, yet feel uncomfortable in the fact that they feel if they don't sexy themselves up they won't get seen for their content.

But on the other hand I think the type of guys that go to the booby streamers aren't the type to watch someone not being a tease anyway so it's not really a huge loss of numbers for the regular Girls.

I dunno, too many different variables and such. It will be a hard thing to police or curb. Because who deems what as "not sexy". I wouldn't consider a TankTop and gym pants to be too sexual, but others might.

[the game]

But isn't Twitch mostly aimed for kids and teens? Are these videos tagged as Mature?

yeah sure. every form of entertainment you don't agree with is meant for kids.

[Azadina]

But isn't Twitch mostly aimed for kids and teens? Are these videos tagged as Mature?

From the example video posted on this page, I don't see why they should be. At quick glance I didn't see anything warranting it.

[Grimbold21]

Honestly, all I hear now is “I’m a desperate guy who can’t control my actions, so you need to remove these women for my sake!”.

I would think it is because women, in general, fight agaisnt (sexual) objectification and then go on to make use of their unique physical attributes to make money, which can be construed to be an unfair disadvantage as men with tops on aren't nearly in the same league as women with revealing cleavage.

[Darklurker]

If you don't like what someone is streaming then don't watch it. It's really not that complicated.

I don't much care or way or another, but I believe the problem would be advertisers taking issue with the type of content there, which would suck for regular streamers.

[Mistame]

You would. Twitch streamers get tons more money than camgirls on porn sites. I know this because.

Which really doesn't make any sense. Why the hell would you pay a woman to sit around talking when you could watch porn for free? /boggle

Much of the complaining I've seen has come from other Women Streamers. Unsurprisingly enough.

Really not surprising. Women tend to carry animus for other women, especially those they deem more attractive. It's part of their crazy.

Though I can see where they are coming from, due to the fact many Female streamers are genuine gamers that don't dress sexually or do overtly flirty shit, yet feel uncomfortable in the fact that they feel if they don't sexy themselves up they won't get seen for their content.

Not really into "streaming" or watching other people play games unless I'm looking at a guide, walk through, etc, but I find those picture-in-picture videos to be annoying as fuck. If I'm watching you game, I want to watch the game. I don't want to see your stupid face.

[arandomuser]

i agreee, and people even call me an "SJW" lol but i still think its true, its actually harder for women to get into gaming especially more REAL gamers yes REAL gamers like people who play compettive/esports, when you have the streamers with the cam on their giant boobs and loose clothes giving all women in gaming a bad name.

[unfilteredJW]

Is it straight guys that are mainly complaining about this? For some reason I kinda doubt it.

It's just Winter Blossom tanking aggro for their mod hobby.

Happens anytime Twitch or Streamers are shown in a bad light.

[Player Twelve]

Which really doesn't make any sense. Why the hell would you pay a woman to sit around talking when you could watch porn for free? /boggle

Because there are a lot of lonely people out there.

[the game]

I don't much care or way or another, but I believe the problem would be advertisers taking issue with the type of content there, which would suck for regular streamers.

pretty sure advertisers can choose who they want to support and who they don't.