Twitter's new policy: no to nonconsensual adult content
Twitter is making it clear: there is no room for revenge porn or similar content on its network. While it might sound like a no-brainer, given that Twitter already disallows graphic content anyway, it sometimes pays to be perfectly explicit, especially when it comes down to legalities. So as not to give any smart crack room to wiggle, the social networking giant has updated its Twitter Rules to lay out in no ambiguous terms, but without mentioning specifics, that revealing photos or videos are not allowed, especially if the subject doesn't consent to its distribution.
"Revenge porn", which is quite self-explanatory, has grown to be a thing lately and the circus that rose around it is no laughing matter. But Twitter's updated policies cover not just this very specific form. The iCloud fiasco late last year put a lot of social networking services under a microscope. This has inspired Twitter to make it known that it will not be party to the distribution of such illegally acquired material.
Twitter's update policies make provisions for both types of materials. So while it's already not allowed for users to post pornographic or excessively violent content, it is even more so when the subject of the photo or video is not the user and that the subject has no consent or even knowledge about its appearance on Twitter. The new provisions can be found in the Private information rules as well as its Abusive behavior policy:
"users may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent."
Twitter is just one of the latest to crack down heavily on adult content. Reddit and Google Blogger last month announced their own changes banning adult content in general. Google later softened its stance due to user backlash, keeping the status quo but emphasizing on the need for users to mark their blogs as such.
VIA: BuzzFeed