Twitter's New Policy Bans Sharing Personal Media Without Consent

On the night of the 30th of November, Twitter, the microblogging site, introduced a new policy for its users.

According to the new policy, Twitter users are not allowed to share personal media like photos/videos without consent of the individual visible in the media. The policy was introduced in the view of concerns amid growing controversies, misuse of the platform, especially for women, activists and public figures. After several cases, controversies and posts, defaming prominent people and social media abuse, Twitter Company decided to enhance their regulations making a safe space for its users.

In regard to the new policy, on Tuesday night, Twitter released an official notification. The notification read, "Sharing personal media, such as images or videos, can potentially violate a person’s privacy, and may lead to emotional or physical harm. The misuse of private media can affect everyone, but can have a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities."

The new policy does not mean people are not allowed to post and share content with a consent proof. However, if someone reports the content posted without permission, Twitter officials would take strict action against the individual who posted the media.

Notably, sharing personal information (phone no., address and IDs) on Twitter are already prohibited.