After a bumpy few weeks, Twitch is putting an end to the “topless meta” trend.
According to TechCrunch, the streaming platform updated its attire policy on Wednesday to address a viral trend in which users stream nude or appear to be nude while streaming. In the new policy, Twitch outlines very specific guidelines that prohibit streamers from being “fully or partially nude” or to “imply or suggest that they are fully or partially nude, including, but not limited to, covering breasts or genitals with objects or censor bars.”
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As TechCrunch notes, such videos were properly tagged for Sexual Themes, therefore weren’t technically breaking any rules and by default didn’t appear on the homepage. But the thumbnails featuring nude or apparently nude streamers that showed up on other pages began to irk members of the community. “Our goal, with this and other recent changes, is to make Twitch a safe and welcoming place for all of the communities that call it home, improve the clarity of our policies, and ensure that people have the experience they expect when spending time on Twitch,” said Angela Hession, chief customer trust officer at Twitch.
Previously, Twitch had updated its nudity policy to allow “fictionalized” i.e. illustrated or animated nudity. But photorealistic AI-generated images flooded the platform and Twitch changed the policy soon after, saying “Digital depictions of nudity present a unique challenge – AI can be used to create realistic images, and it can be hard to distinguish between digital art and photography,” in a follow up blog post.
So there you have it. The topless meta party is over, and streamers will have to find another way of boosting their profile fully clothed.