Twitter’s privacy policy was revised this morning to prohibit the sharing of photos or videos of private users without their agreement.
Twitter Bans Users From Posting Private Information Of People Without Consent
Twitter Expands Safety Policy!
So one might think Twitter will ask for some consent from the person in a photo or video?
No!
Before a photo or video is posted, Twitter will not seek consent from all people in it. However, if a person depicted wishes for the media to be removed, Twitter will do so.
“When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to have their private image or video shared, we will remove it,” Twitter wrote in its update. “This policy does not apply 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.”
Twitter Safety added to the announcement thread hours later to address concerns.
“Let’s unpack what this means,” the account wrote. “This policy update will help curb the misuse of media to harass, intimidate, and reveal the identities of private individuals, which disproportionately impacts women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities.”
Motivation Behind This Policy Update!
Twitter attributed the motivation behind this policy update to the 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”.
“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,” it noted.
“Context matters. Our existing private information policy includes many exceptions to enable robust reporting on newsworthy events and conversations that are in the public interest,” the app wrote.
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