Sexual Content Policy Update
To Whom it May Concern at Twitch and whoever else decides to read this,
While I am not someone who streams on Twitch, though have considered it, and who rarely finds myself watching streams, I still had been rather excited for the recent, now declared null, update to the TOS/Policy on Sexual Content.
I am not someone who participates all that often in adult content, but I do believe that it should be able to exist in adult spaces for those who do wish to participate. The internet has become a hostile places for those who wish to see or participate in adult spaces, which in turn makes it harder to create safe adult communities with proper monitoring and safety in mind.
I do not believe the sudden take back of the content policy change was the right thing to do. If anything I believe the best thing Twitch could have done was instead move in the direction of banning the machine learning(AI) content that was mentioned as a reason behind this rollback because of the whole "not being able to tell because of how lifelike it is."
If there is an obvious problem area — AI content — then that is what should be focused on, not a blanket ban on content. Especially when you readily admitted that most of the content was in line with the new policy and that any content that wasn't was dealt with accordingly.
Censorship does not work in the way that most people and companies think it does. The only thing censoring content, especially fictional content, does is tilt in favor of those who wish to use the censoring to get rid of anything they do not like, and honestly starts to feel like we're toeing the edges of certain ideals(fas cist) and that we're trying to reinstate the Hays Code <-- something people should look up to learn about why this isn't the way we should be going.
While I understand the concerns of some people wanting to keep adult content away from minors, and not wishing to see it themselves, there are a few things that they should keep in mind:
It is not the responsibility of adults who create adult content in adult spaces to cater or to look after kids that appear in those spaces. This is entirely the responsibility of the parents, and to an extent the website, to do and prevent.
If you are afraid that seeing such things will "corrupt their minds" then that sounds like something you have to deal with in yourself, and is also in your responsibilities as a parent and adult to teach your kids about internet safety and sex education.Online isn't just for kids and adults shouldn't have to give up their spaces for kids. We're allowed to exist and do adult things and we shouldn't have to worry about kids breaking OUR boundaries to access OUR spaces.
If you don't want to see it then don't watch it. No one is forcing you to watch the things you do not want to see.
In my experience online most anyone that has a "think of the children" mindset usually doesn't actually care about kids and is using the kids as an excuse to attack the actual thing they don't want to see. If this is not the case then all my points still stand. If it is, then you should probably have a think about what it really is that you're against and why. Your disgust is not a measure of morality.
Now, onto what I think Twitch should do:
Separate the adult content from spaces where minors can view or access it. This is not the same as removing it completely.
Create a proper block/blacklist/filtering system that allows people to remove content tagged with certain labels and mature ratings from their feed entirely so they do not have to see what they do not want to.
As an addition to point two, be vigilant and dedicated to making sure that people tag/rate their content properly so the tagging and rating systems work properly.
Be transparent about what adult content is allowed on twitch. As in if you say fictional adult content, be sure to make it clear that all fictional characters must be over the age of eighteen, which I am sure was/is already a rule, but better to restate it than not. Also add examples of allowed content.
This kind of thing can be tricky though as you cannot really discern age of someone off appearance alone. Example being I just turned thirty and people think I am younger than my sister who is four years younger than me. Or that there are many people who are adults but have small chests or small stature.Actually have a plan and be ready for the influx of content when you make sure changes to your site. As mentioned previously, most of the internet is a hostile place for adult content so when someone gives the ok to such, there will always be those who push the boundaries to see what is and is not allowed — be transparent about what is ok — and as long as you monitor it then everything should be ok. Of course the beginning will be a bit rocky, but things never start out going the exact way we want them to go, and running away does not allow progress to be made.
Hire more moderators and pay them fairly for their work.Remove machine learning(AI) ccontent if it is such a problem that one cannot tell if it is real or not.
Feel free to add suggestions as to what you think Twitch should do below.
Regards,
A rather annoyed and tired internet user
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KrosswalkingKoboldsLLC commented
I second the entirety of this post. Very well written. I would like to add a couple points.
1. While it is inaccessible at this point, as Twitch has successfully prevented the way back machine from working properly on their blog, the change to the policy explicitly stated that photo realistic nudity was not allowed. And yet, the statement from the most recent blog post states "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." If it is difficult to distinguish between digital art and photography, then it is photorealistic and should not be allowed per the original change. I am asking you to please do not lie to us in the future. If you are lying to us about this, then it causes mine and others trust in your protection of us to come in to question.
2. As PandoranMama said, the internet is becoming hostile to adult activity. Creating a safe haven where we don't have to worry about ads that contain viruses, where we can trust in the legality of the site, where rules can be enforced that allows for creators of adult content is a very important objective. It would allow you to make profits from people seeking that content and have currently accepted that risk in the current climate. You could even make it a separate subdomain that you would have to intentionally navigate to. It could even have a separate advertiser pool for your more squeamish advertisers. You have options.
TLDR; Stop lying to us. And why are you leaving money on the table? Just make a safe place for us to be adults. Stop being childish about adult content.