Twitch is addressing sexual harassment by implementing major policy changes. Although the company has a history of enforcing complicated rules with confusing restrictions, it is currently making efforts to improve clarity for viewers and streamers alike.

Clearer definitions of sexual harassment

The sexual harassment policy on Twitch has been updated with the goal of making the guidelines “easier to understand.”

The platform now provides a better definition of sexual harassment and more specific wording about what acts are prohibited. This update aims to create a common understanding of sexual harassment and how it behaves among all platform users.

“In order for our sexual harassment policy to be effective, we need a shared understanding of what sexual harassment is and how it shows up,” Twitch stated in a blog post.

“To remove ambiguity, we’ve added additional language about what we prohibit, and more clearly defined what we consider sexual harassment. This core definition serves as the baseline and better establishes our expectations around behavior.”

Specific behaviors that are prohibited

The updated policy specifies several behaviors that violate Twitch’s rules, including:

  • Unwanted comments about someone’s appearance or body, even if made using emojis or emotes
  • Sexual requests or advances
  • Sexual objectification
  • Negative statements or attacks related to a person’s perceived sexual behaviors or activities, regardless of their gender
  • Recording or sharing non-consensual intimate images or videos, which may be reported to law enforcement

New AutoMod features

To support these changes, Twitch is also updating its AutoMod tool. AutoMod now has a new category that filters messages that could be considered sexual harassment. This tool will block such messages before they appear in chat, but streamers and moderators can still review them and decide whether to delete or report them.

According to Twitch, “… making some clarifications to our sexual harassment policy and sharing more about a new AutoMod category designed to flag chat messages that may contain sexual harassment.”

The platform wants to ensure that enforcement of its guidelines is accurate and fair. When messages are reported for sexual harassment, moderators will review various signs to confirm that the comments were unwanted and not consensual.

Image courtesy: Twitch