Twitch's New Branding Policy: No Marijuana Promotion, But Alcohol Gets A Pass

Zinger Key Points
  • Twitch has updated its policy to ban the promotion of marijuana businesses and products, while allowing partnerships for alcohol.
  • This contradicts Amazon's support for marijuana legalization.

Twitch, the video game streaming company owned by Amazon.com, Inc AMZN, has recently revised its branding policy for streamers, now explicitly forbidding the promotion of marijuana businesses and products.
The platform has recently retracted its ad guideline changes after facing vehement criticism from streamers. However, the company has chosen to uphold its ban on cannabis promotion.

See Also: Twitch Rethinks Ad Guidelines And Streamlining Monetization Opportunities Due To Streamer Backlash
As per Marijuana Moment, the guidelines state that streamers are not allowed to receive compensation for promoting cannabis-related products, which include vaping, delivery services, and CBD.
Curiously, Twitch has a different approach to alcohol, as it enables streamers to establish partnerships and receive remuneration for promoting alcoholic beverages. The only condition is that these products must be labeled as "mature content."
It's worth noting that Twitch had previously clarified its rules to include cannabis, treating it similarly to alcohol and tobacco. Last year, the platform removed marijuana-related references from its list of prohibited usernames.
Moreover, Twitch's parent company, Amazon, is actively advocating for federal marijuana legalization legislation, and the corporation has implemented more progressive internal policies concerning marijuana drug testing for its employees.

Read Next: Twitch Executives Say It's The Best 'Time To Start Streaming' Despite Recent Controversies: What Do Twitch Creators Think?

Image credits: Ann Kosolapova and Oleksandrum on Shutterstock and logo on Wikipedia

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