Twitch has been receiving quite a numerous amounts of complaints from their decision to ban streaming star xQc from their platform for showing nudity shown on his stream. This Overwatch pro gamer was recently banned this Feb. 29, which makes quite an example of how Twitch is willing to take down even one of their biggest stars due to something offensive. But was this fair? What about the others which showed nudity in their streams as well?
xQc banned for streaming nudity on Twitch
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There has even been a trend going on named "unbanxQc" in hopes of reaching Twitch and pressuring them to bring back the famous Overwatch star. This has been quite a topic of controversy since other streamers are able to show nudity but have gone unpunished, but when xQc did this stint, he received the full wrath of Twitch. This move, according to fans and xQc himself, is unfair, and it seems like Twitch is selective with the people they ban from their community instead of offering a fair platform for all.
The guidelines have been unclear from the start
The problem with this move by Twitch is that it is unfair for other games such as Witcher 3, which even includes full-frontal nudity, and even xQc himself has been able to play this game without even being punished despite the visual obscurity. Other streams include nude body painting, which is right on the line of both suggestive content, and artistic material has also been a topic being raised since there is no clear definition between the two.
The world of streaming is hard to define since the intent should be more important than the content, but the content is treated as equally important as well. Those who had been accidentally showed nudity were flagged, while some have been able to stay on the platform. With that, gamers question how Twitch is making this procedure effective and beneficial for their users instead of something that takes advantage and harms and limits users.
What does Twitch say about this topic in their guidelines?
According to the terms which users agree to, Twitch's community guidelines state that when nudity is in-game and cannot be helped, these types of visuals are permitted as long as they are not the "main focus" and do not hinder the player from focus. The only thin line which really puts xQc in a tight spot is the term "main focus," which can be the very button that Twitch has pushed to get xQc out of their platform. Although this does seem like an awkward move, the reason is better understood when focusing on the intent of the streamer instead of the material.
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xQc's reaction to this move by Twitch was not too bitter
There was no formal statement given by xQc except a meme on his Twitter page, which showed an image of Pepe the frog, along with the caption "too much juice this time." Twitch gives leniency to users by staying away from comments on their own community guidelines violations.
