Critics say it took too long for Twitter and Facebook to respond to the burgeoning response to “revenge porn”-the publication of nude or compromising photos online in order to humiliate, shame or embarrass the subject of the photos.
In previous posts, we’ve detailed the nature of revenge porn and the measures a number of states have taken to deal with the issue as a crime.
According to the Washington Post, “Under the new rules, Twitter users who see such photos of themselves posted online will be able to report the authorized material to the company. Only the subject of the photo — or their legal representative — is allowed to request that Twitter review and remove the pictures. Those who post the photos are allowed to appeal a takedown decision, if they feel it was unwarranted. . . ‘[Those] users will be required to delete the content in question before being able to return to the platform,’ the company said. Those who post content intending to harass others could be suspended from Twitter altogether. If the photos become the subject of a legal investigation, the company said that it will follow its existing rules if asked to turn over personal information on the person who posts the pictures.”
Reddit took similar measures a few weeks ago stating, “Last year, we missed a chance to be a leader in social media when it comes to protecting your privacy — something we’ve cared deeply about since reddit’s inception,” a statement posted by the reddit team said. “At our recent all hands company meeting, this was something that we all, as a company, decided we needed to address.”
Finally, the NY Times reports that Facebook will also begin to crackdown on revenge porn. According to the Times article, “The company is for the first time explicitly banning content promoting sexual violence or exploitation, including so-called revenge porn, which it defines as intimate images “shared in revenge or without permission from the people in the images.”
This is a move in the right direction for social media companies who until now have been slow to respond to the criminality of revenge porn.