One day after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey resigned from the company he founded about 16 years ago, Twitter, under new CEO Parag Agrawal has issued a new ban that restricts sharing videos or photos without consent on the platform.
The new addition was listed on Twitter’s blog on Tuesday, saying, “NEW: media of private individuals without the permission of the person(s) depicted.”
“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,” Twitter also noted.
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
The new policy is designed to “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.”
Let’s unpack what this means.
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.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) November 30, 2021
The new policy requires a first-person report before a review or “any enforcement action” is taken.
To be clear, we require a first-person report of the photo/video in question (or from an authorized representative). After we receive a report, that particular media will be reviewed before any enforcement action is taken.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) November 30, 2021
Twitter’s guidelines will also leave room for interpretation based on “context.”
“Our existing private information policy includes many exceptions in order to enable robust reporting on newsworthy events and conversations that are in the public interest,” Twitter’s guidelines state.
Context matters. Our existing private information policy includes many exceptions in order to enable robust reporting on newsworthy events and conversations that are in the public interest.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) November 30, 2021
The new policy under Agrawal appears to point to Twitter adding increased restrictions to its platform. Twitter has already experienced a wide variety of concerns in recent years, particularly among conservatives suspended or removed from the platform over censorship issues. Former President Donald Trump was most notably permanently banned from Twitter following Jan. 6.
The Daily Wire previously reported on Monday:
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he will be stepping down from his role at the social media company. It was previously reported by CNBC that, according to sources who spoke with the outlet’s David Faber, Dorsey was expected to step down.
“Hello team,” Dorsey wrote in an email to Twitter employees that was also posted on his profile. “After almost 16 years of having a role at our company…from co-founder to CEO to Chair to Exec Chair to interim-CEO to CEO…I decided it’s finally time for me to leave. Why?”
“There’s a lot of talk about the importance of a company being ‘founder-led,’” he continued. “Ultimately I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of failure. I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders.”