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Twitter is infested with pornography, yet their minimum age requirement to make an account is a mere 13 years old.
The porn industry once thrived on Tumblr – a social media blog site that began in 2007. But in December 2018, the site fully banned adult content. And thus, Twitter became the new Tumblr.
Unfortunately, most parents likely have no idea that Twitter is a portal to the porn world, and most probably wouldn’t think twice about letting their kid have an account. While platforms like Facebook and Instagram at least attempt to restrict nude imagery and sexual content, Twitter has chosen to embrace it. In fact, Twitter has been regarded as “the most important social media platform for the porn world.”
UK Reality TV star Stephen Bear is facing backlash after posting several videos of him and his girlfriend having sex on Twitter. However, Bear technically didn’t do anything wrong according to Twitter’s sensitive media policy. As long as the content is between two consenting people (which Twitter has no way of verifying), graphic sexual content is allowed.
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Users can “share graphic violence and consensually produced adult content within [their] Tweets, provided that [they] mark this media as sensitive.” If users do not mark their media as sensitive, Twitter claims they will do so manually. But, only if the content is reported for review.
But even if most users flag their pornographic content as sensitive, the only thing between a child and a pornographic image or video is a little button that says, “click to view.” Well, we all know that curiosity killed the cat, and it is far more likely that an innocent, curious child is going to click “view” than scroll past.
Paper Magazine described finding porn on the platform like, “entering Narnia through your wardrobe. I was pretty much looking for a pair of old shoes and then the next thing you know, I’m in a magical land eating Turkish Delights with a centaur…here in sex-Narnia, there are thousands of accounts filled to the brim with gratuitous images and videos.”
These images and videos include those that depict rape themes, adult-with-teen, incest, anal sex, gang bang, and BDSM. There are countless accounts advertising webcams, porn sites, pay per view accounts, and in-person encounters.
the only thing between a child and a pornographic image or video is a little button that says, “click to view.”
Not only are they hosting blatant pornographic content, but in some cases this content is illegal. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is bringing a lawsuit against Twitter on behalf of two survivors of child sexual abuse who were trafficked and exploited on the platform. According to NCOSE, Twitter is complicit with the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The reality is, Twitter wants to profit from the multi-billion dollar porn industry and doesn’t care if kids are hurt in the process.
Moreover, users, including children, don’t even have to be signed in to view “adult” material. Twitter profiles pop up as results in search engines. With two clicks, a child performing a search on Google could land on a Twitter profile riddled with highly graphic pornographic material.
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One user told Exodus Cry, “Porn affected me for the first time when I was about 13. I had just gotten a Twitter account and without even meaning to find anything, I easily discovered the world of porn.”
Despite their minimum age requirement being 13, the Apple Store rates Twitter as suitable for ages 17 and up. That four-year age difference may seem small, but it carries significant implications.
At best, their minimum age requirement is an extremely irresponsible and negligent policy, given the explicit content allowed on the platform. But it’s virtually impossible for them to even impose that restriction—meaning children under 13 can easily create accounts. There are no age verification measures put in place and no enforcement to place sensitive content labels on pornographic material.
So, let’s do that math. Minimal restrictions on pornographic content + virtually no account level age restrictions or verification = you guessed it, an extremely dangerous situation for children to be exposed to porn.
Given how easy it is to find porn on the platform, why won’t Twitter ban such content or impose required age verification? As became apparent in the past year, they have certainly proven capable of policing their own platform when it comes to a different set of issues. Sadly, protecting children from harmful pornographic content doesn’t appear nearly as important to Mr. Dorsey & Co.
The truth of the matter is, by virtue of hosting and distributing porn, Twitter is an “adult” site. They cannot enable hardcore porn and yet, at the same time, market accounts to thirteen-year-olds.
Twitter must choose: are they a porn site or are they a social media site for kids, teens, and adults alike?
No child should have their innocence stripped from them, traumatized by the graphic and violent hardcore porn easily accessible on social media platforms.
We must stand up for the innocence and protection of children. In an age where technology is inescapable and the internet is constantly at our fingertips, there must be safeguards in place that go beyond parental control. Twitter must be held responsible for their partnership with the porn industry and its devastating effects on kids. We are calling for required age verification through the use of government issued IDs on all sites that host pornographic content—that means Twitter.
Underage exposure to porn is devastating millions of kids around the world. Here are three ways you can help strengthen the fight to #ProtectChildrenNotPorn:
1. Join 50k+ others by signing the petition demanding age verification, with ID, on every single porn site. Then share it.
2. Watch Raised on Porn, free on YouTube, then like, comment, and share it with 5 friends.
3. Give here. The more resources we have the more people we can reach with this film and campaign.