Twitch no longer allows streamers and commenters to call each other ‘simps’. The term – a recent favorite in the Twitch community nominally referring to men desperate for a woman’s attention – will be banned when used as an insult under Twitch’s upcoming overhaul of its harassment policy. “Incel” and “virgin” will also be banned as insults, Twitch COO Sara Clemens said during a live-streamed town hall this afternoon.
The new policy, first noticed by esports advisor Rod Breslau, will enter into force on January 22. It also includes stricter rules around sexual harassment and appears to give Twitch more leeway to ban streamers and commentators who make offensive comments.
The revision of the policy comes after Twitch was inundated with reports of sexual harassment within its community and complaints that the company had ignored the issue for years. Twitch said in June that it was “committed to continuing our efforts to make Twitch a safer environment” and that a review of its hateful conduct and harassment policy was underway.
“Simp” will be banned under part of the revamped policy that prohibits dissenting statements about another’s perceived sexual preferences. “And that includes addressing another person negatively with sexually directed terms,” said Clemens. Twitch also denies “proactive” emotes that also contain all three of these terms.
The words “simp”, “incel” and “virgin” will not be banned in all situations. Twitch will only take action when used for harassment – but that’s how these terms usually end up on Twitch.
“We will take action against the use of terms such as ‘simp’, ‘incel’ or ‘virgin’, especially when they are used to refer negatively to someone else’s sexual practices. Using these terms alone would not lead to enforcement, but we would take action if they were used repeatedly in an intimidating way, ”a Twitch spokesperson said. The edge.
Twitch’s updated harassment policy lists a number of prohibited behaviors related to sexual harassment. One is a ban on “making derogatory statements about the alleged sexual practices or sexual morals of another”. The policy goes on to say it would include “repeatedly negatively targeting another person with sexually directed terms, such as ‘whore’ or ‘virgin’.”
There are no details on exactly how Twitch will enforce the ‘simp’ ban. But moderators might find it tricky, given how often the term is thrown around on Twitch. The edge has contacted Twitch for more information.
Update December 16, 5:40 PM ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Twitch.