Twitter has banned personal photos and videos posted without the permission of the people in them.
What You Need To Know
- Twitter has banned personal photos and videos posted without the permission of the people in them
- The updated policy aims to reduce the use of photos and videos to harass, intimidate or reveal the identities of private individuals
- The new rule does have exceptions, including whether the images are shared in the public interest or add to public discourse
- Images of people participating in public events, such as protests and sporting events, are also in the clear, Twitter said
The social media giant announced Tuesday that it amended its private information policy to include private media. The rules already had prohibited publishing someone’s private information, including phone number, address or ID, threatening to expose such information or incentivizing others to do so.
The updated policy aims to reduce the use of photos and videos to harass, intimidate or reveal the identities of private individuals, which disproportionately affects women, activists, dissidents and members of minority communities, Twitter said.
Twitter said it will take action when it receives a complaint from the person in the image or an authorized representative. If the social media company determines the image indeed violates its policy, it will remove it.
“Sharing images is an important part of folks’ experience on Twitter,” the social media company said in a tweet. “People should have a choice in determining whether or not a photo is shared publicly.”
The new rule does have exceptions. It does not apply to photos or video of public figures or other individuals when it is shared in the public interest or adds to public discourse.
However, private images of public figures or others posted with the goal of harassing, intimidating or attempting to silence them will be considered abusive behavior, Twitter said. Private nude photos of public individuals had already been banned by the company.
Twitter says it always tries to assess the context of the images being shared, adding that photos and videos that are publicly available, are being covered by traditional media outlets or are accompanied by text that adds to the public discourse, is being shared in the public interest or is relevant to the community would likely be allowed to remain. That should protect footage of crimes captured.
Images of people participating in public events, such as protests and sporting events, are also in the clear, Twitter said.
“Feeling safe on Twitter is different for everyone, and our teams are constantly working to understand and address these needs,” Twitter said in a blog post. “We know our work will never be done, and we will continue to invest in making our product and policies more robust and transparent to continue to earn the trust of the people using our service.”
