Twitter Policy Online 2014: Company Offers Option to Remove Images of Deceased Family Members
Twitter is offering families of deceased individuals an opportunity to remove images of their loved ones, according to a statement Tuesday.
The announcement comes just a week after Robin Williams' death and his daughter's move to quit using the social media platform after receiving disturbing images of her father, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"In order to respect the wishes of loved ones, Twitter will remove imagery of deceased individuals in certain circumstances," Twitter spokesman Nu Wexler said on Tuesday, according to WSJ.
Even more recently, the social media platform announced it will suspend accounts that post images or the video of U.S. journalist James Foley's beheading, according to The Telegraph.
"We have been and are actively suspending accounts as we discover them related to this graphic imagery. Thank you," Dick Costolo, Twitter CEO, announced on Wednesday morning.
When Wexler made the announcement Tuesday, it instructed users to email privacy@twitter.com to submit the requests.
But, Wexler said in the statement, Twitter will consider some factors when weighing the request.
"When reviewing such media removal requests, Twitter considers public interest factors such as the newsworthiness of the content and may not be able to honor every request," Wexler said.
Many users have also jumped on board with the recent media surge for James Foley.
The hashtag #ISISmediablackout is trending, and many are choosing pictures of Foley smiling to try and share in his memory instead, The Telegraph reported.
The hashtag #RespectJamesFoley is also trending.
WSJ reported Del Harvey, Twitter's head of trust and safety, said last week, "We are in the process of evaluating how we can further improve our policies to better handle tragic situations like this one. This includes expanding our policies regarding self-harm and private information, and improving support for family members of deceased users."
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