On Monday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced he would be leaving the media platform and be replaced by CTO Parag Agrawal. While many celebrated Dorsey’s exit others noted that his successor could be an even greater threat to censorship, an issue Twitter has repeatedly been accused of. It seems that those sounding the alarm on Agrawal may not be mistaken as Twitter just announced a stricter policy regarding sharing photos and video on the platform.
Townhall reports:
In a blog post published Tuesday titled, “Expanding Our Private Information Policy to Include Media,” Twitter said it will take enforcement action against “personal media” that is shared without consent.
“There are growing concerns about the misuse of media and information that is not available elsewhere online as a tool to harass, intimidate, and reveal the identities of individuals,” the company said. “Sharing personal media, such as images or videos, can potentially violate a person’s privacy, and may lead to emotional or physical harm. The misuse of private media can affect everyone, but can have a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities. When we receive a report that a Tweet contains unauthorized private media, we will now take action in line with our range of enforcement options.
When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to having their private image or video shared, we will remove it. This policy is not applicable to media featuring public figures or individuals when media and accompanying Tweet text are shared in the public interest or add value to public discourse.
However, if the purpose of the dissemination of private images of public figures or individuals who are part of public conversations is to harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence them, we may remove the content in line with our policy against abusive behavior. (Twitter)
Will this new policy push even more users to abandon the platform? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
