Twitch adds feature to let users hide political and “sensitive” streams

As a long-time Twitch user who has witnessed the platform evolve and sometimes devolve over the years, I must say that the recent move to allow users to hide streams focusing on political and sensitive social issues is a welcome change.


Twitch has decided to give its users the option to conceal streams that primarily discuss political matters and controversial social topics, due to increasing criticism over the content hosted on the platform.

By October 2024, Twitch faced criticism over its abundance of “disputed content,” with Devin Nash predicting a potential “ad-crisis” or “adpocalypse” unless adjustments are implemented.

As a passionate user, I’m reassured by Twitch CEO Dan Clancy’s recent announcement. He’s made it clear that our community is a safe space where intolerance and discrimination have no room. His commitment to rooting out hate and harassment on the platform gives me confidence in our shared values.

Clancy additionally noted that certain content, although permissible on our platform, might be found offensive or disagreeable by some users within our community.

Following Clancy’s remark, Twitch announced it would adapt its Content Classification Labels to incorporate political stream content.

Starting today, we’re broadening the range of Content Classification Categories and introducing a new one centered around political and contentious topics. Previously established for offering more autonomy to viewers regarding their Twitch experiences, Content Classification Labels now cover these expanded categories.

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) November 1, 2024

From now on, when conversations involve political debates or touch upon sensitive social topics, these discussions will be labeled with the “Politics and Sensitive Social Issues Content Classification Tag,” as stated by the platform.

According to Twitch’s CCL (Community Guidelines), live streams containing political figures, discussions about election controversies, military clashes, or broadcasts from demonstrations must display a specific tag.

As a gamer, I wouldn’t always need to slap a label on my streams if they’re strictly educational and unbiased, like diving deep into the workings of the U.S. election system, keeping clear of personal political leanings.

For streamers who often broadcast political content, such as Hasan, Twitch says this decision would affect ad revenue.

Twitch adds feature to let users hide political and “sensitive” streams

Advertisers on Twitch can match their advertisements with content that aligns with their brand’s values. This way, they have a better understanding of what kind of stream context is suitable for displaying their ads. Furthermore, some brands might choose not to advertise alongside streams with certain Content Classification Labels.

Users who prefer to exclude political broadcasts or certain types of content from their Twitch experience can achieve this by navigating to the “Content Preferences” section within their account settings, where they can choose which streams they’d rather not view.

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2024-11-01 19:18