The streamers SpookyUnagi and SpoopyKitt were suddenly banned by Twitch, although they changed nothing about their content. Odd, they think, and complain about the platform, which only recently clarified its guidelines regarding “sexual content.”
What are bikini streamers? Twitch introduced a new category “Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches,” which allows streamers to show themselves in swimwear. However, this permission only applies if they are at the beach or in a pool.
Thus, a new, successful Twitch meta emerged and especially female streamers showed themselves provocatively in bikinis. Especially Amouranth became well-known for her ASMR streams because of this.
But now Twitch seems to suddenly be cracking down on such bikini streamers, as both SpookyUnagi and SpoopyKitt were banned in early May. They claim they are not the only ones and tell of fellow streamers who were also unexpectedly banned from the platform (via Twitter).
More bans on Twitch in our video:
SpookyUnagi and SpoopyKitt insist: The content has not changed
What does SpookyUnagi say? SpookyUnagi was banned on May 1 for 3 days. On May 9, the second ban followed. The streamer is now worried about her livelihood and complains to Twitch, as she never changed anything about her content:
Twitch allows creators to build a career and a life with content that they had allowed for a year. Independent workers, who essentially work “for” Twitch, buy houses, cars, assets, and have continuous income for investments. And they threaten to take it all away with unjustified bans.
(via Twitter)
She also believes that Twitch has the right to remove bikini streams since it is their platform. However, she demands clearer guidelines regarding such streams, as the category still exists. Furthermore, the streamer suspects that bots might be behind the bans that continuously report Twitch channels (via Twitter).
What does SpoopyKitt say? SpoopyKitt was banned on May 6 and unlocked again after 3 days. She also does not understand why she was suddenly banned from the platform.
She wrote on Twitter: “I’ve been dancing with a hula hoop in the pool for a year, so I don’t know why it suddenly counts as ‘sexually suggestive.’ Twitch posted ‘Improving the Clarity of Our Sexual Content Policy,’ where it says: ‘This is not a change in policy or its enforcement.'”
The streamer did not change anything about her content that would justify the ban.
Twitch adjusts the clarity of the guidelines on sexual content
What does that mean? Twitch listed more examples of sexual content at the end of April that could lead to a ban, although they did not change the guidelines per se. Things considered “sexually suggestive” include:
- Camera focus on breasts, buttocks, genital area, or poses that highlight those areas.
- Fiddling or explicit gestures towards breasts, buttocks, or genitals.
- Behavior or activities concerning fetishes, such as focusing on body parts for sexual gratification or erotic roleplaying.
- Erotic dances (on a pole) that are sexually suggestive in nature.
Further details can be found in the tweet from Zach Bussey:
Now some streamers and the community speculate whether these definitions may have anything to do with the bans from Twitch.
Some users celebrate the bans and argue that such streamers do not belong on the platform anyway. Twitch is only for gaming.
What does Twitch say about it? Twitch has not yet commented on the bans and the current situation.
A small dog was also deemed too suggestive for the platform: Twitch bans a harmless dog emote – “Shows sexual content or nudity”
