In the wake of the threat where child pornography is at large, online social platforms have taken part in controlling the type of content that is posted by various users. Facebook, Google, Twitter and the rest are joining hands against pornography on the internet. This week, Google had sent out an ‘Adult content policy’ to all Blogger users, which stated that post March 23, 2015, no one will be allowed to share images and videos that contain sexually explicit content or graphic nudity on Blogger. However, Google did ease out the policy stating ‘We’ll still allow nudity if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example, in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts’
Now, Reddit has taken this step too—Reddit has issued a change to its privacy policy on February 24, 2015, stating that it now prohibits all posts relating to nude photos and videos of people who are engaged in sex acts without prior consent. According to the New York Times, the change from Reddit, the user governed online messaging board that has almost 160 million engrossed in its content daily, comes after the much hyped case of posts on Snapchat leaked nude pictures of celebrities and child pornography got the worst of the internet. The article also points out that Reddit could face a reduction of users, since some of them use the site for trading of illicit photos taken without their permission.
New York Times also points out that Michael Brutsch had created a large sub-community called “Jailbait” dedicated entirely to posting and trading photos of underage girls, a few years ago. “I really want to believe that as we enter the next 10 years of Reddit life, essentially the most trafficked media site on the Internet, the opportunity here to set a standard for respecting the privacy of our users,” Alexis Ohanian, Reddit’s co-founder and executive chairman, said in an interview, according to New York Times.
Reddit has already taken the issue seriously and has started taking down posts, which contain explicit content.
