Twitch sexual harassment ban now includes terms like ‘simp’ and ‘incel’

Twitch broadens its ban against slurs to include a collection of newer, increasingly popular Internet slangs typically related to inappropriate behaviour towards women. — Bloomberg

Livestreaming service Twitch is updating its ban against slurs to include a collection of newer slangs usually related to inappropriate behaviour towards women.

In an update to its harassment policy, the company stated it would prohibit the use of terms like “simp”, “incel”, and “virgin”, specifically when they were used to negatively refer to another person’s sexual practices.

“Using these terms on their own wouldn’t lead to enforcement but we would take action if they were used repeatedly in a harassing manner,” it said, adding that emojis referring to these words would also be subject to enforcement.

The Cambridge Dictionary defined “incel” as a portmanteau of Involuntary Celibate, while the Merriam Webster noted that “simp” has changed in modern use from meaning a simpleton to someone who is delusionally lovestruck, often with an Internet personality like a Twitch streamer.

Twitch said it determined if something was a slur if the language used generally degrades or denigrates based on a protected characteristic.

“When we evaluate the use of a hateful slur, we take context into account, and we do make an exception for the use of some words or terms in an empowering way, or as terms of belonging when such intent is clear. We enforce against the use of hateful slurs globally, and in multiple languages,” it explained.

This was part of an overall update to the company’s terms of use, which covered three sections: harassment, hateful conduct, and sexual harassment.

The new policy comes into effect on Jan 22 next year, thus only content created on or after the date would be subject to the new guidelines.

Twitch explained the later roll-out of the policy was to avoid being punitive, and to give users time to learn about the changes which aimed to better protect the community.

Though the company does not make the specifics of its enforcements public, punishments may include warnings and temporary suspensions ranging from one to 30 days or permanent bans for the most severe cases.