Twitter bans the sharing of photos and videos of private individuals without consent

This week, Twitter announced new measures to protect the privacy of users, banning the sharing of photos and videos of private individuals without their consent.

The announcement, which was announced by the official Twitter account on Tuesday, expanded Twitter’s existing security measures, which already included banning the sharing of certain private information, such as addresses and phone numbers.

The expanded policy makes it a violation for any user to share “private media”, including photographs or videos of any other private user “without their express authorization and permission.” Twitter explained in their announcement that it will use all the enforcement tools at its disposal to ensure the new policy is followed by its users.

The announcement further explains the reasoning behind the move to enhance Twitter’s private information policy, telling users, “Sharing personal media, such as images or videos, can potentially violate a person’s privacy, and may lead to emotional or physical harm.”

Them company also aims to decrease the disproportionate effect online harassment has on minority communities, saying, “The misuse of private media can affect everyone, but can have a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities.”

The move comes as the COVID-19 lockdown saw an increase in cyberbullying nationwide. According to the Pew Research Center, about 40 percent of American internet users surveyed said they had been the victim of some form of cyberbullying and 25 percent have experienced more severe harassment that stemmed from an online conflict, including “physical threats, stalking, sexual harassment and sustained harassment.” 

The change in Twitter’s privacy policy also comes on the heels of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, announcing his resignation on Monday, leaving Parag Agrawal as then new CEO effective immediately.