Twitch streams involving political discussions will now require a content classification label as of Nov. 1.
“While content that does not violate our Community Guidelines is allowed on Twitch, not all content or topics are appropriate for everyone,” Twitch says on its website. “In those cases, we require that streamers mark their stream with a label.”
Other streaming topics that require content classification labels include mature-rated games, excessive tobacco use, the use of profanity, gambling, and sexual themes.
Do I need to label my Twitch streams as political?
Twitch explained on its website that this applied to streams discussing topics like elections, protests, civil unrest, foreign policy, reproduction rights, immigration, gender, race, sexuality, and religion.
However, streamers do not always have to label their content. This is provided that “informational or educational content that aim[s] to share knowledge in a neutral, fact-based manner, rather than engaging in any kind of advocacy for an issue candidate.” Streamers also don’t need to add labels if political or social issues are “intermittent.”
This news comes shortly after recent controversies regarding how Twitch approaches content moderation related to Israel and Palestine. Meanwhile, the election in the US is only a day away.
Update Nov. 5, 2024, 10:15am ET: On Nov. 4, Twitch announced an update to its “Politics and Sensitive Social Issues” content classification label.
In the updated guidelines, the platform clarified that users don’t have to label their streams with this label if they are talking about their own lived experiences on topics like gender, sexuality, race, and religion.
“Our goal here, as with any CCL, is to give viewers and brands more info about what’s happening on a particular stream, so that they can make an informed decision about what to watch and where to engage,” Twitch said in an X post.
