Twitch tells VTubers to cover their hips so they don’t look too sexy
Ironmouse and other VTubers have been told that they can’t show their naked hips on-stream, as Twitch introduces Enforcement Notes to clarify what’s not allowed on the site.
In an attempt to get ahead of problematic trends on its platform before they become popular, such as Morgpie’s ‘topless’ meta from last year, Twitch has introduced Enforcement Notes.
These notes are added to the guidelines as clarifications, with specific examples of what isn’t allowed on Twitch for streamers and chatters.
One of the first Enforcement Notes added is a rather peculiar one, and states that VTubers must cover their model’s hips, which shows just how vigilant Twitch feels it needs to be to keep its streamers from going too far.
‘Going forward, we’ll use Enforcement Notes to outline how our rules apply to trends we see on Twitch.
‘If a new ‘meta’ violates an existing policy, we see a spike in our data, or there is large community confusion and discussion on social media, we’ll look to publish an enforcement note under the relevant policy, clarifying what behaviors break our rules,’ Twitch explains.
One of the new Enforcement Notes, under the sub-category for which body parts must be covered during streaming, states, ‘Hip coverage is often forgotten in this rule, please be sure that your VTuber model covers this area.’
Another trend Twitch wants to exemplify as illegal on the site is doing the cinnamon challenge for monetary gain, which has seen streamers try to eat a spoonful of powdered cinnamon if they get a certain amount of donations.
An Enforcement Note also says that chatters can’t say they are under the age of 13, ‘even if intended to be humorous’, with the example given being: ‘I’m using my dad’s account because I am 11.’
Some fans, however, aren’t sure it will matter much, with Hajaas saying:
‘That’s cool I guess, but the problem was never that people don’t understand the terms of service, it’s that Twitch enforces it completely randomly.’
‘What is the point of this when Twitch decides when they do and don’t want to enforce rules? Completely meaningless,’ Commercial Kick said.
Over the years, Twitch has got a reputation for changing its guidelines if a controversial trend goes too far, instead of proactively making sure they don’t happen in the first place.
The Enforcement Notes appear to be an attempt at changing this, although how effective it will be remains to be seen.
One trend that became problematic on the platform a few years back was lightly-clothed streamers sitting in hot tubs, spearheaded by Amouranth.
The trend was criticised because the site is open to anyone, including children, and it became so widespread that Twitch eventually created its own category, to give viewers and advertisers more control over their experience.
The Enforcement Notes come in addition to another transparency feature implemented in September, for banned streamers, which will include clips of the reason they were suspended.
Don’t ear powdered cinnamon, says Twitch (Twitch)