Social-media giant says it will block users from sharing private images of other people without their consent, but some users say Twitter needs to clarify exactly how the tightened policy would work.
Twitter has launched new rules blocking users from sharing private images of other people without their consent, in a tightening of the network's policy just a day after it changed CEOs.
Under the new rules, people who are not public figures can ask Twitter to take down pictures or videos of them that they report were posted without permission.
Twitter said on Tuesday 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."
"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 added.
The right of internet users to appeal to platforms when images or data about them are posted by third parties, especially for malicious purposes, has been debated for years.
READ MORE: Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO
See the VALID concerns myself & others have as to what we READ from the new rules? pic.twitter.com/5hMCwyBPfk
— Favored (@itsblrose) November 30, 2021
'More concerns and new rules'
Twitter already prohibited the publication of private information such as a person's phone number or address, but there are "growing concerns" about the use of content to "harass, intimidate and reveal the identities of individuals," Twitter said.
The company noted a "disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities."
High-profile examples of online harassment include the barrages of racist, sexist and homophobic abuse on Twitch, the world's biggest video game streaming site.
But instances of harassment abound, and victims must often wage lengthy fights to see hurtful, insulting, or illegally produced images of themselves removed from the online platforms.
This is horrible. Pictures include random folks, person, etc. in the background or not. You can't reach out to random folks and ask to post the pic you just took. This is like a State Run CCP type rule. Horrific.
— Favored (@itsblrose) November 30, 2021
So if I take a picture of a landmark and have some people in it, would posting that violate this policy? Or if I share a video like the one of George Floyd being murdered, would I need the consent of everyone in that video? Because that video is the reason there was justice.
— Bertski (@NYIslandGuy) November 30, 2021
Twitter asked to clarify policy further
Some Twitter users pushed the company to clarify exactly how the tightened policy would work.
"Does this mean that if I take a picture of, say, a concert in Central Park, I need the permission of everyone in it? We diminish the sense of the public to the detriment of the public," tweeted Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at the City University of New York.
The change came the day after Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey announced he was leaving the company and handed CEO duties to company executive Parag Agrawal.
The platform, like other social media networks, has struggled against bullying, misinformation, and hate-fuelled content.
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