Social media site bans revenge porn

Twitter has announced that it will no longer tolerate ‘revenge porn’, that is intimate images or footage posted without the consent of the person featured, in order to reduce abuse and harrassment.

This occurred after CEO Dick Costolo recently admitted that Twitter “sucks” when it comes to tackling online trolls.

The new rules, posted in the ‘privacy’ section of the site, state: "You may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent."

Meaning that users are banned from posting personal information, videos or photographs of another person without the person's consent, therefore, users will have to verify their identity and prove they have been given permission for anything explicit to be publicly shared.

Users who violate the new revenge porn rules will have their accounts locked unless they delete the offending information while those who repeatedly post such material will see their accounts suspended.

This is the wake of the high-profile hacking of nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence, which were posted on social media sites.

A spokesperson said: "Twitter is continuing to explore product solutions to allow us to act faster and more efficiently to protect our users”.

But critics have pointed out the ease with which users can create new accounts, under different names and questioned whether the new rules will truly impact the site's easy anonymity, as a recent report estimated there were 90,000 accounts supporting extremist group ISIS on Twitter.

Let us know what you think about this ban.