Twitch’s hot tub controversy got even worse when streamer and cosplayer Amouranth announced that her ad revenue had been pulled from her channel without warning. This was deeply concerning to her and well as many others within the community, especially upon her follow-up that this meantlosing out on nearly $500,000 annually. The big problem here, Amouranth cited, was that Twitch didn’t provide her proper notice before taking action, including outlining what’s considered “non-advertiser-friendly” content.
Many other content creators had responses to Amouranth’s situation. While some believe Amouranth could take Twitch to courts over that loss of income, others like xQc are taking it as a warning sign. Hecalled Amouranth a “scapegoat"that could end up saving many other content creators from a similar fate. Still, streamers are now concerned about what it means to be “non-advertiser-friendly” according to Twitch as there are no specifics listed in its Terms of Service. Now, some are worried this could impact streamers that don’t engage in sexually explicit content.
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Twitch’s Unclear Guidelines
Many Twitch users point out thatAmouranthwas purposefully skirting Twitch’s guidelines, as are all hot tub streamers. Hot tub streaming comes from a loophole in Twitch’s rules that state it’s fine to stream in swimwear in the appropriate settings, such as in hot tubs, near pools, and at the beach. Many saw this and abused the loophole, resulting in the current hot tub controversy. Amouranth has been banned several times for sexually explicit content during these hot tub streams, leading up to her loss of ad revenue due to being “non-advertiser friendly.”
But there are many other ways to receive bans from Twitch, and without proper constitutes advertiser-friendly content or infringements upon it, some content creators are worried others could be slapped with demonetization. For example, Alinity has been banned a few times for different reasons, one of which was becauseshe threw her cat, but there’s a following of folks that still believe she abuses them live on camera. Could Twitch suddenly decide to pull her ad revenue due to these claims? In a less extreme example, couldGerman streamer MontanaBlack88see the same fate for smoking cigarettes on camera? There’s currently no clear line drawn.
The answer, however, is probably not, in light of Twitch’s recent response to the hot tub meta.
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It’s possible that Twitch had planned to address the hot tub meta in a lengthy message beforeAmouranth’s demonetization a few days ago, but it addresses this recent controversy as well. While implying that pulling Amouranth’s ad revenue came at the request of the advertising companies and not the platform itself, Twitch owns up to both not having warned her properly before taking action and said it would help provide a better understanding of what it means to be “brand safe.”
It’s unclear if this means Amouranth will get her ad revenue restored, butTwitchis taking the right steps to solve the concerns rising within the community. Twitch plans to implement better controls and more transparency between what’s appropriate for partnerships between brands and streamers. This could mean ads will return to Amouranth’s channel but regarding products and services that relate to her content or fit her brand. This could also be applied to any streamer within the new Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches category.
Going forward, it looks like folks won’t have to worry about getting slapped with demonetization without notice. While this may not be the response some people were hoping for, content creators should benefit fromTwitchcreating clearer Terms of Service in the coming months.
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