Twitch recently announced changes to their branded content guidelines which have left many content creators feeling unfairly treated. The most notable of these changes are limiting the size of stream logos to three percent of the screen, disallowing display, ad audio, and branded video content, as well as banning certain content including Hateful products, Weapons, Adult-oriented products, Political content, Cannabis, Alcohol, Tobacco and Financial products. All of these changes are seen as a strict attempt by Twitch to squeeze every cent out of their platform and content creators, and to monopolise the streaming market, leading to much blowback on the platform.
Content creators rely heavily on sponsorships in order to make money from streaming, and these updates have considerably reduced the monetisation opportunities available. Twitch has also introduced a ban on streaming to a service other than them, such as YouTube, meaning that content creators using this practice have to choose between the two platforms. It is not unheard of for content creators to have both a Twitch and YouTube channel for streaming, but this change makes it impossible.
The response to these guidelines changes has been overwhelmingly negative, with many content creators suggesting they will move away from Twitch due to a lack of fairness and freedom. Twitch is listening to their comments, however, and have promised to make changes to the language to clarify the guidelines. Until then, content creators have to come to terms with the new restrictions, and in some cases, decide if Twitch is the platform for them.