Warning: This article deals with an accounts of sexual assault and may be triggering for survivors of abuse.
Kick: A site that’s NSFW and proud of it. When using this service, you don’t have to scroll down at all to be advertised slot machine streams. Unlike Twitch or YouTube Live, this joint allows its users to live stream themselves gambling.
However, Kick’s NSFW content goes further than gambling. From its inception, Kick has been advertising the fact that it has lax moderation tools. This has led to several of its creators pushing the boundaries in unsavoury ways.
Take, for instance, the Kick streamer Adin Ross. On 21 February, Ross streamed uncensored pornography to his audience. This audience allegedly contained people under the age of 18 and people who didn’t consent to engaging with this explicit content.
Now, this shouldn’t need to be said, but you don’t share sexually explicit content with individuals who haven’t consented. Such acts can be harmful and damaging.
There were no repercussions for Ross taking this action. Even though this stream was against Kick’s terms of service, Ross wasn’t reprimanded or banned.
What’s more, Kick’s super-yikes NSFW streams don’t stop there.
On 23 February, Kick member Michael Peters streamed himself receiving a blowjob. He did this to his audience of around 15,000 people. Some of these people were allegedly minors.
Unlike Ross, Peters received a one-day ban for this action.
“One day ban on Kick after [an] average of 15,000 views,” said Peters. “And honestly, I got lost in the sauce.”
“I’ll be back with the energy, but not being disrespectful. This is why Kick is the GOAT.”
Kick’s NSFW Problem
As it stands, Kick wants two diametrically opposing things. It wants to be both the wild west of streaming and a legitimate place of business. This can be demonstrated in Kick’s lax NSFW rules and the competitive compensation packages that they provide to their streamers.
However, long term, Kick cannot be both. It cannot be a pokie paradise, a controversy hole, and legitimate as Twitch. It’s difficult to buy one’s self-esteem. Especially when you’re representing Adin Ross.
If Kick wants to become a big boy, it’ll need to ditch the casino streams. It will need to enforce its own policies. Anything less will be failure. Anything less is a flop.
Related: What Is Kick? Why Is It So Controversial in 2023?
Related: Why Was Andrew Tate Arrested? Here are the Facts
If this article brings up any issues for you or anyone you know, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the National Sexual Assault, domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service.
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