Twitter bans sharing private images and videos without consent, with exceptions for newsworthiness and public figures, and will remove content that users report

Twitter has expanded its private information policy to include media, banning users from sharing photos or videos of a private individual without their permission. Source: Twitter .

Engadget 2021-12-01 Kris Holt

Context & Ripple Effects

Twitter had already barred non-consensual intimate media in 2015; the new rule extends its privacy approach to photos and videos of private people more broadly. The stated newsworthiness and public-figure exceptions make enforcement a judgment call rather than a blanket ban.

The policy's boundary quickly drew concern from journalists and activists, who warned that its public-interest standard could be used to challenge legitimate reporting.

First-order effects

Twitter users now need permission before posting media of private individuals, while people depicted in that media gain a reporting route for removal.
Twitter's moderation teams must distinguish private-person content from material covered by the newsworthiness or public-figure exceptions.

Second-order effects

Journalists and activists face a more contested publishing workflow because subjects can invoke the policy against media that contributors regard as being in the public interest.
Bad-faith reporters gain another way to trigger moderation review, increasing the importance of Twitter applying its exceptions consistently.

Third-order effects

The move places Twitter on a broader path from narrowly defined intimate-media safeguards toward a more comprehensive consent-based private-information policy, later reflected in restrictions on accounts sharing live location.
If platforms adopt similarly broad consent rules, content moderation will increasingly depend on operational definitions of public interest and private status rather than on whether media is merely public-facing.

The trend: Social platforms are broadening privacy enforcement from specific abusive content categories to consent-based rules governing the circulation of personal information and media.

Discussion

Twitter Twitter on x
Expanding our private information policy to include media
Twitter Help Center Twitter Help Center on x
Overview — You may not publish or post other people's private information without their express authorization and permission.
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
Sharing images is an important part of folks' experience on Twitter. People should have a choice in determining whether or not a photo is shared publicly. To that end we are expanding the scope of our Private Information Policy. 🧵
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
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://blog.twitter.co…
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
Images/videos that show people participating in public events (like large scale protests, sporting events, etc.) would generally not violate this policy. For more on what is NOT in violation, read the full policy here: https://help.twitter.com/...
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
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.
@howardlindzon HowarDAO on x
Web 2.0 is accelerating into a sad place...MetaBookFace can't buy Giphy and Twitter says you can't share pictures of strangers https://www.engadget.com/..... This tweet serves as me asking for permission forever to share pictures of any of you. Thanks. $twtr $fb
@mtracey Michael Tracey on x
Twitter just made this clarification (which they strangely forgot to include in the post announcing the policy) but caveats it as applying “generally” to “large-scale protests” — so we'll have to see how that works in practice 🙄 https://twitter.com/...
@chadloder Chad Loder on x
“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.” This policy is already harming those exact people. …
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
This seems like a nearly impossible standard to meet. I understand the thinking behind this, but it seems likely to lead to a lot of questionable takedowns. https://twitter.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Twitter said the new “no private media” policy is inapplicable to public figures when the tweet is for “public interest” or adds value to “public discourse” But how'd they define “private media”? Who is a “public figure”? What is “public discourse”? https://blog.twitter.com/... h…
@vitogesualdi Vito Gesualdi on x
You can tell this policy was written by a “safety & inclusion officer” in an afternoon without any thought given to how pointless and ridiculous it would be to try and police this sort of thing. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@bretweinstein Bret Weinstein on x
This is an unworkable policy. Obviously. Of course, it is beautifully constructed to allow Twitter to protect its friends and punish/hobble others with *selective enforcement* all while pretending to be impartial and interested only in the “safety” of the community. https://twitt…
@tomfitton Tom Fitton on x
More excuses to protect leftists and censor conservatives. https://twitter.com/...
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
We will take into consideration whether the image is publicly available and/or is being covered by journalists—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.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
New CEO, new rules. Twitter bans sharing images or videos of private individuals without their consent as part of update to doxxing policy. So you can now issue DMCA style takedown requests of photos of you on Twitter. Enforcement is going to be wild. https://blog.twitter.com/...
@bhweingarten Benjamin Weingarten on x
With this kind of subjectivity, what could possibly go wrong? “This policy is not applicable 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.” https://blog.twitter.com/...
@matthewtyrmand Matthew Tyrmand on x
So @Twitter is now saying: the purest form of journalism- the investigative format where veracity is unimpeachable as the information exposed comes straight from the subjects themselves- will be removed on an ad hoc basis by a self anointed digital ministry of truth. How quaint🤦‍…
@ulonnaya Tage on x
Twitter bans sharing images or videos of private individuals without their consent. I'd love to see how this is gonna work. https://techcrunch.com/...
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
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.
@twittersafety @twittersafety on x
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.
@imao_ Frank J. Fleming on x
Cool. New rules just dropped to selectively enforce. https://twitter.com/...
@etbrooking Emerson T. Brooking on x
figures that I write something complimentary about Twitter policy and the next day they unveil an unworkable, easily abused rule that conflicts w/ the fundamental nature of the platform. https://twitter.com/...
@noupside Renee DiResta on x
There are very real trust & safety issues around posting photos of people to try to kick up brigades. But at the same time, implementing this policy requires deep analysis of what's actually happening in a given thread or it'll be over-broad. https://twitter.com/...
@willmenaker @willmenaker on x
Unless this applies to #NFTs this is more fake bullshit #RightClickVictim https://twitter.com/...
@vv1lder Emily Wilder on x
what does this mean for videos of police misconduct? https://twitter.com/...
@cwarzel Charlie Warzel on x
will just add my voice to the people saying this feels broad and vague enough to be almost nonsensical https://twitter.com/...
@evan_greer Evan Greer on x
this seems ... poorly thought out how long before cops try to abuse this to get videos of brutality taken down? i can think of a dozen other similar abusive examples off the top of my head... i get the intention but seems like kind of a mess without more specifics https://twitter…
@dloesch Dana Loesch on x
No more journalism guys https://twitter.com/...
@kirkwrites79 MoneybaggHo on x
So, if I want to post a pic of my parents on their anniversary or just looking cute, I have to get their permission. But, how would @TwitterSafety know this? 🥴🙃 https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
I don't think Twitter should be deciding what is in the public interest or not themselves https://blog.twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@alyssafarah Alyssa Farah Griffin on x
Read the new Twitter rules on sharing images/video of private individuals. My reading of this would mean it would bar videos like the killing of George Floyd. If this is the case, the ONLY good that comes from Twitter - exposing injustice - is now banned https://blog.twitter.com/…
@bergealex4 Alex B. on x
I was about to say... @Twitter just basically canceled vigilante reporting. @jack knew and the fact that he went out of his way to publicly endorse this new leadership says a whole lot about him. You won't see me cheerlead whatever else he decides to work on. https://twitter.com/…
@blackamazon @blackamazon on x
You've no way to enforce it, no commitment to not favoring the powerful, and “private individuals” is going to be an interesting gambit considering you're verification process is opaque , racist, xenophobic and arbitrary https://twitter.com/...
@ecrumrine FalconWizard on x
How does Twitter define “private” images though? They say it also doesn't apply to public figures or things that are “newsworthy,” so I'm unclear a) how the rules are defined and b) how they'll even be enforced? https://www.engadget.com/...
@kyriacosonyx Stanley Hucci on x
A lot of the weirdo accounts bout to go missing https://twitter.com/...
@drivenbyboredom Nate Igor Smith on x
Theoretically this is great, but how do you enforce this? This seems like the easiest tool for trolls to abuse. It's like DMCA takedowns where they act first and people get their content taken down for no reason and it takes weeks/ months to fight it. https://twitter.com/...
@digiphile Alex Howard on x
“This @policy is not applicable to media featuring public figures or individuals when media & accompanying Tweet text are shared in the public interest or add value to public discourse.” Who decides who “media” are, @Twitter? Or if photos taken of people in public “add value?” ht…
@paulg Paul Graham on x
This is scary. But the upside is that it could be the final boost of energy needed to enable a Twitter replacement. So if you'd been thinking of creating a Twitter replacement, this could be the time. https://twitter.com/...

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