Twitch CEO defends women creating “sexually themed” content

Dan Clancy was interviewed by VR Chat streamer roflgator when the topic of the censor bar meta came up. He finally addressed it and confirmed that many of those involved in this meta were, in fact, following the ToS. This meta may not be going anywhere any time soon.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has been outspoken from the moment he joined the team as someone who’s open to talking with creators on the platform and answering some difficult questions.

It’s something that’s earned him a lot of respect from the Twitch community, and he hasn’t stopped appearing even as things have become a bit turbulent on Twitch. Although, he decided to appear as Gandalf the White this time around as he ventured into the world of VR chat.

In an interview with roflgator, not only did he address the “artistic nudity” changes being rolled back, but he also was open to talking about the censor bar meta. And, while he’s still split on whether or not Twitch should do something about it, he also didn’t seem entirely opposed to its existence.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy tackles censor bar meta

Funny enough, Dan Clancy is the one who brought up the censor bar issue in the first place rather than him being directly asked about it. As a result, it’s safe to assume he’s keeping up with what’s trending on Twitch, even as many have spoken out against this type of content being allowed.

And, while he’s torn about whether or not Twitch should step in and try to bring a stop to it, he did have some insight on how the situation fits into the platform’s current Terms of Service.

“We have a line, just like we currently have on attire or other things. We have no interest in going over the line into what would be truly considered adult or p***ographic content, not what any of this is. And, of course, the attire policy is an example of that. We have one policy if you’re near a pool or a hot tub, and a different policy that applies more generally,” Clancy explained.

“Of course, people put blow-up pools in their room – and so it’s kind of funny now. In fact, I’ve been thinking about… If we could loosen the attire policy, should we? Or is it just kind of funny?”

This led to Clancy explaining how censor bars fit into Twitch’s attire policy and he explained why some streamers have been banned.

“Some of them have gotten banned because they pushed the limit, but the bar moves around. Then, for a brief period of time, they’re in violation of the attire policy, and they get banned.” This is something that was seen recently as Boogie2988 went fully nude on stream, banking on his loose skin to cover things up. That gamble didn’t pay off.

However, outside of these cases, Clancy’s on board with the meta to some extent and is still trying to determine whether things should be toned down.

“I appreciate the women that are doing it. It’s one thing that’s happened just over break, where a number of people aren’t around. It’s something I’m still trying to think about. What’s the right thing there?” Clancy mused. “One of the things we have to think about – we need to make sure that, for all of our streamers, the site works for them earning their living. Ads are an important part of revenue for any streamer.”

If advertisers get concerned about this kind of content Clancy may have to put work into “finding a balance” when it comes to these kinds of streams. But that influence aside, he seems fine with it.

“I know I didn’t give a straight answer in terms of the black bar cause I’m still trying to figure out what I think. Because, the way they do the black bar, you think they’re naked, right? That’s the impression you get, that’s what your mind is telling you although they may not be.”

He’d also go on to comment on the space as a whole, especially as it pertains to women:

“They’re earning a living, they’re not hurting anybody, and the people that are watching are choosing to watch. And I think sometimes people use derogatory words toward them, they mischaracterize them, they denigrate them and act like what they’re doing is somehow wrong or inappropriate. I strongly disagree with that.” Clancy asserted.

“I do think it’s very important to acknowledge that they aren’t hurting anyone, they’re adults, the people who choose to watch them are adults. It’s very different than what happens if you wanna talk about p***ography or other things, it is not. It is sexually themed. This is on behalf of them, because I do think they get a lot of abuse on our site. That is not merited,” he concluded.

This, combined with Clancy’s take on artistic nudity and the face of Twitch moving forward, makes it clear that Twitch’s CEO supports female streamers and those making sexually themed content, and he doesn’t seem to have any plans to change that moving forward.