Twitch Introduces Parental Controls to Limit Teen Livestreaming
Live-streaming platform Twitch has launched its first parental control tools, allowing guardians to restrict teen activity, including preventing them from broadcasting livestreams. This marks a significant shift towards outbound content control.
Twitch, the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform, has introduced its first set of parental control tools for users aged 13-17. This new feature allows guardians to restrict activities on the platform, most notably by preventing teens from broadcasting their own livestreams. The tools are accessible through a linked parent account within the Family Center.
The Parental Controls panel offers comprehensive management options. Guardians can disable direct messages, set time limits for usage, curate content recommendations, and prevent teens from streaming. Setting up the controls requires linking a parent's account to the teen's account, which also provides weekly email summaries detailing the teen's on-platform activity, including watched channels and hours.
This new feature distinguishes Twitch by focusing on outbound content control – restricting what teens can broadcast – rather than solely on inbound contact or content consumption. This could have implications for teen creators who generate revenue through livestreams and for brands partnering with them.
The rollout places Twitch in line with industry trends, responding to pressures that have led competitors like Discord, TikTok, and YouTube to implement similar safeguarding measures. These actions often follow increased regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits concerning the impact of social media on minors.
While a significant step, the system relies on accurate user age reporting during sign-up, which is not strictly enforced. Twitch has begun implementing age verification tools in select regions to comply with digital safety laws, with potential for further expansion of parental controls in the future.