Twitch Reapes Controversy About New Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches Categories

GAMEFINITY.ID, Salatiga – The biggest streaming platform Twitch is now back in controversy. On May 21, 2021, Twitch announced that it would add a “Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches” category.

This decision has shocked the Twitch community. Because Twitch is already known through very strict regulations or TOS. In fact, many streamers have been banned for showing slightly sexual content.

Through an official post on its official page, Twitch explained the reason why it didn’t give Ban to streamers who were considered too sexual through Hot Tub Stream.

“Under our Nudity & Attire and Sexually Suggestive Content policy, Streamers can appear in a swimsuit in contextually appropriate situations (at the beach, in the bath, for example), and we allow creative and expressive arts such as body writing and body painting, provided the Streamer has the appropriate safeguards as outlined by our policies.”

Then Twitch also explained why it added the “Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches” category.

“Streamers who use the Hot Tub/Pools theme usually enter their streams into the Just Chat category. And because a lot of non-Hot Tub/Pools streamers use the Just Chat category, this can interfere with ad revenue from non-Hot Tub/Pools streamers. Therefore, we decided to create a separate category, namely “Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches”. Twitch said in a blog post.

Streamers and Twitch Community Reaction

The decision taken by Twitch has drawn criticism and criticism from various streamers and the Twitch community. Some streamers have even threatened to leave Twitch if this category is not removed.

One of the streamers who criticized Twitch’s actions was Malena. According to him, adding the category “Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches” is the same as helping to encourage new streamers to stream sexual themes. He also added that Twitch’s reputation as a streaming platform that upholds norms and integrity will be lost.

Then a negative reaction also came from one of the well-known streamers, namely xQc. In its stream, xQc argues that the “Pools, Hot Tub and Beaches” category has several loophole exploitable so that content with a high level of sexuality will be able to escape. In addition, he also believes that the Twitch Admin will not be able to control the number of Hot Tub categories so as not to cross the rule limit.

Besides that, AnnieFuchsia gave strong criticism. According to him, the Hot Tub category will encourage viewers to harass female streamers. Viewers can potentially pressure female streamers to Hot Tub Stream.