Pokimane Wants a Kid-Safe Version of Twitch

Letting kids on the internet, especially unsupervised, has always come with its risks. Various tools and subsections of websites have created ways to help filter out unwanted content from being viewed by underage eyes, and Pokimane thinks it’s time that Twitch does the same.

Twitch streamers focus on different subjects, like sharing gameplay with fans, or giving viewers insight into a person’s real life or travels in an IRL stream. Unfortunately, gaming-related or not, a lot of streamed content isn’t intended for children, but there isn’t a very effective way of preventing it from being seen by kids.

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Twitch streamer Pokimane, who has been the target of recent hate raids, discussed her concerns regarding children on the platform in a recent stream. According to Pokimane, these hate raids have been heavily populated by kids, who she says ‘regurgitate absolutely everything’ and ‘don’t know any better.’ In an effort to combat this type of behavior and to ensure that kids have a safe place to view streams appropriate for them, Pokimane believes that it’s time for a kids’ version of Twitch, or at least a way to filter out unsafe streams.


A Nintendo Switch Pro Controller on a reflective surface in front of the Twitch logo

Many would likely agree with Pokimane, as NSFW content has expanded on the platform. Some might argue that it’s ultimately up to the parents or guardians of kids to determine what’s safe and not for them to look at and engage with, but extra tools could help with this problem. Given the ability to effectively flip through channels at Twitch, there’s no easy way to allow kids to view content that’s safe while blocking out what isn’t.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a video streaming platform has provided this type of filtering service. YouTube, which has its own streaming service and is likely Twitch’s biggest competitor, has the YouTube Kids version that helps to block out unwanted content. It’s not foolproof, as some pretty terrible things have made it onto YouTube Kids in the past, but it blocks a lot of content that’s freely available in the full version of YouTube.


With that being said, Twitch streamers get banned regularly already for breaking the existing rules on Twitch. Having the company determine whether to filter out an entire streamer’s channel on a proposed Twitch Kids version would be a way to start, but even those who were approved could potentially do something out of the blue that wouldn’t be good for kids, and Twitch would only be able to respond after the fact.

Implementing rules or filters can’t guarantee kids’ viewing safety, shy of blocking them from Twitch entirely. However, adding a curated list of channels or a kids-specific filter could at least help block out the most egregious content.


Source: Dexerto


Source: Gamerant

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