Twitch is finally letting users hide streams focusing on political and “sensitive social issues” as the platform faces backlash for the content on the site.
In October, 2024, Twitch came under fire for the amount of “controversial content” on the platform with Devin Nash even warning that the site will face an “adpocalypse” if changes aren’t made.
Responding to concerns over rising antisemitism on the platform, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy issued a statement saying that the company remains “committed to ensuring that hate and harassment have no place here.”
Clancy also remarked how, “some content, while allowed on our service, may be objectionable to some members of our community.”
Shortly after Clancy’s statement, Twitch revealed that it was making changes to its Content Classification Labels by including streams focused on politics.
Today, we’re expanding Content Classification Labels and adding a new content category, focused on political and debated issues. Content Classification Labels were built and designed to give viewers more control over what they see on Twitch.Starting today, streams that include…
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) November 1, 2024
“Starting today, streams that include discussion of politics or sensitive social issues should include the new Politics and Sensitive Social Issues Content Classification Label,” the platform announced.
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Twitch’s CCL page states that streams featuring political officials, discussing election-related disputes or military conflicts, or broadcasts from protests should feature the label.
However, not every stream will require a label if they’re educational and neutral, such as explaining how the US election system works without taking a side in the actual vote.
For streamers who often broadcast political content, such as Hasan, Twitch says this decision would affect ad revenue.
“Brands align their ads with content that reflects their brand values. The labels will allow advertisers to have more context to inform which types of streams they show their ads alongside,” Twitch explained. “It is also possible that certain brands won’t want to run their ads alongside streams with specific types of Content Classification Labels applied.”
Viewers wanting to hide political streams or other types of content can do so in their Twitch settings by clicking on “content preferences” and selecting which types of broadcasts they don’t want to see.