Twitch under fire after introducing a new category called "Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches" streams

Twitch has been under fire this past week regarding its allowance and prohibition of streamers who log into Twitch from their hot tub, providing viewers with a variety of content, all while wearing their bathing suits. Rather, in some cases, what they call their bathing suits.

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Twitch's Hot-Tub Gate Continues

Just hours ago, Twitch officials released a Twitch blog post regarding their latest thoughts and updated policies for creators who would like to stream from their pools, hot tubs, or while at local beaches. Twitch acknowledge that their policies are not as clear as they could be when it comes to defining obscene content and that they have made adjustments in an effort to help.

In the same breath, Twitch also highlights that women are often portrayed in provocative ways in most video games, so it would not make sense for them to censor content creators who present themselves in the same way.

Sexual Nature of Video Games Called Out in New Twitch Guidelines {Image via Twitch}

The new guidelines boil down to the requirement that streamers be adequately covered, as nudity is not, and will not, be allowed. They also emphasize that sexual or explicit content is restricted to that of "pornography, sex acts, and sexual services."

With regards to the demonitization of streamers such as Amouranth and others, who have been flagged for inappropriate content, the Twitch blog directly states:

"being found to be sexy by others is not against our rules, and Twitch will not take enforcement action against women, or anyone on our service, for their perceived attractiveness."

The community has mixed feelings about the streaming website's adjustments. While some individuals find this issue hilarious, others take it seriously, as it is their form of income. Another portion of the community, however, expressed concerns about allowing such content.

The community seems to be evenly divided into parties calling for Twitch to remove hot tub streaming altogether, those who continue to call for it to be allowed with even less restrictions, and others who call for Twitch to focus on more important issues such as the creation of a Trans Creator Tag.

At the end of the day, the line between censorship and the creation of a platform safe for all ages is a fine one. When searching for an answer to what is immodest or immoral, the more important question is who gets to answer it.

Nonetheless, the blog post shared by Twitch, which covered all of this and then somem ended by assuring members of their community that this is not the end of the hot tub-focused decision.