A day after it changed its CEO, Twitter Inc. launched new rules blocking users from sharing private images or videos of other people without their consent, with a view to tighten its network policy and make anti-harassment policies more robust.

This move comes amid the growing concerns about the use of content 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. Such misuse of private media affects everyone but can have a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents and members of minority communities.

Twitter said this policy does not apply to “public figures or individuals when media and accompanying tweet text are shared in the public interest or add value to public discourse.”

The company also stated that it would always assess the context in which the content is shared and then decide to allow the images or videos to remain on the service.

This doesn’t mean that Twitter will require consent from all individuals in a photo or video before it’s posted, but if a person depicted wants the media taken down, the platform will take it down.

Twitter has already prohibited the publication of private information such as a person’s phone number, address or location, identity documents, non-public contact information, financial information, or medical data.

By- Shubham Kumar

(Content Writer, WCSF)