Twitter bans posting photos, videos of people without their consent

Just days into his new role, Twitter’s new CEO has announced a big change to how people can share pictures and videos on the platform.

Twitter’s new boss has made his first move.

The social media giant — under the leadership of new CEO Parag Agrawal — announced that it is revising its privacy policy to block the sharing of photos and videos of people without their consent, the New York Post reported.

“Sharing personal media, such as images or videos, can potentially violate a person’s privacy, and may lead to emotional or physical harm,” Twitter said in a blog post.

“The misuse of private media can affect everyone, but can have a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities.”

Twitter said that to enforce the new policy, it will require a “first-person report of the photo/video in question (or from an authorised representative)”.

New Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has already announced a major change to the platform. Picture: Twitter / AFP

“After we receive a report, that particular media will be reviewed before any enforcement action is taken,” the company said.

Notably, the 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.”

It’s not clear who will decide when a tweet adds value to public discourse, and a representative for Twitter did not return The Post’s request for comment.

Beginning today, we will not allow the sharing of private media, such as images or videos of private individuals without their consent. Publishing people's private info is also prohibited under the policy, as is threatening or incentivizing others to do so.https://t.co/7EXvXdwegG

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) November 30, 2021

“We will always try to assess the context in which the content is shared and, in such cases, we may allow the images or videos to remain on the service,” the company said.

“For instance, we would take into consideration whether the image is publicly available and/or is being covered by mainstream/traditional media (newspapers, TV channels, online news sites), or if a particular image and the accompanying tweet text adds value to the public discourse, is being shared in public interest, or is relevant to the community.”

The policy takes effect immediately, Twitter said.

The company already had a policy against the sharing of others’ private information, including addresses, financial data and phone numbers.

Twitter said the latest move is part of its efforts to “to align our safety policies with human rights standards.”

The announcement came on Agrawal’s first full day as chief executive of the company after founder and longtime CEO Jack Dorsey resigned on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission