Over the past year or so, there has been a general crackdown on content that would be considered NSFW, basically any content that is meant to be consumed by adults due to its graphically violent or sexual nature. Facebook and Instagram have always been rather restrictive with the kind of content they allowed on their platforms, but last year a real game changer occurred when Tumblr, a social media platform that was widely considered to be a haven for anyone that wanted to create or share adult content, implemented a site wide ban on such content.
This heralded a changing of the times. After Tumblr’s surprise decision to ban all adult content on the platform, something that was brought about from a concern that some people featured in this kind of content might actually be under the legal age of consent, Facebook and Instagram cracked down even further on these kinds of content as well. This went as far as restricting the use of certain kinds of emojis as well, emojis that are considered to be sexual in nature due to their general implications.
It seems like Twitter is now joining the growing list of social media platforms that are banning content that is sexual in nature. Starting from the 1st of January 2020, content that contains graphic gore, sensitive or violent sexual imagery will no longer be allowed on the platform. This is basically being done to prevent such content from contributing to the widespread sexual violence committed against women on a daily basis, and turn Twitter into a more family friendly place.
While the sentiment behind this new policy surrounding NSFW content seems to make sense, some people are criticizing the micro-blogging platform for it. One group of people that are criticizing it include artists that specialize in NSFW artwork, sex workers that upload content to the platform as well as general fetish enthusiasts.
These people are criticizing the fact that the ban on “violent sexual content” is going to prevent content in which the encounter is consensual from being uploaded as well. What Twitter defines as “violent sexual content” is basically any content that has both violence and sex in it, yet certain people claim that they engage in such encounters consensually and it is essentially play acting meant as a form of artistic expression. The criticism also mentions the fact that non fetish based sexual videos will still be allowed, so the focus is not really on consent but rather on an assumption that is not based on the actual consent of the people involved.
Others are criticizing this as a cheap move to encourage more advertisers to come to the platform, something that is undoubtedly true as Twitter looks to expand its borders.
Photo: bombuscreative via Getty Images
Read next: Twitter Provides Info on Unavailable Tweets
This heralded a changing of the times. After Tumblr’s surprise decision to ban all adult content on the platform, something that was brought about from a concern that some people featured in this kind of content might actually be under the legal age of consent, Facebook and Instagram cracked down even further on these kinds of content as well. This went as far as restricting the use of certain kinds of emojis as well, emojis that are considered to be sexual in nature due to their general implications.
It seems like Twitter is now joining the growing list of social media platforms that are banning content that is sexual in nature. Starting from the 1st of January 2020, content that contains graphic gore, sensitive or violent sexual imagery will no longer be allowed on the platform. This is basically being done to prevent such content from contributing to the widespread sexual violence committed against women on a daily basis, and turn Twitter into a more family friendly place.
While the sentiment behind this new policy surrounding NSFW content seems to make sense, some people are criticizing the micro-blogging platform for it. One group of people that are criticizing it include artists that specialize in NSFW artwork, sex workers that upload content to the platform as well as general fetish enthusiasts.
These people are criticizing the fact that the ban on “violent sexual content” is going to prevent content in which the encounter is consensual from being uploaded as well. What Twitter defines as “violent sexual content” is basically any content that has both violence and sex in it, yet certain people claim that they engage in such encounters consensually and it is essentially play acting meant as a form of artistic expression. The criticism also mentions the fact that non fetish based sexual videos will still be allowed, so the focus is not really on consent but rather on an assumption that is not based on the actual consent of the people involved.
Others are criticizing this as a cheap move to encourage more advertisers to come to the platform, something that is undoubtedly true as Twitter looks to expand its borders.
Photo: bombuscreative via Getty Images
Read next: Twitter Provides Info on Unavailable Tweets
