Twitter Bans Revenge Porn

Revenge porn is spreading intimate photos or videos without the subject's consent. In a memo to employees last month, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said he was embarrassed about the company's reputation and took "personal responsibility" for the company's failure to address the problem. Costolo wrote, "We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years," CNNMoney reported on 12 March 2015.

The CDA 230

Section 230 Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) is perhaps the most influential law to protect the kind of innovation that has allowed the Internet to flourish since 1996. It states that, "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." This gives immunity to online intermediaries that host or republish speech that might otherwise be used to hold them legally responsible for what others say and do, [Electronic Frontier Foundation]. CDA 230 makes America a safe haven for websites that want to provide a platform for controversial or political speech and a legal environment favorable to free expression. Propagating pornographic materials was not on the intention of the CDA 230. Costolo did the right thing by admitting shame.

Yishan Wong and Reddit

Revenge was not the motive behind last year's major hack of celebrity photos. These images were heavily distributed on Reddit, and the company was criticized for being slow to remove them. Yishan Wong, Reddit's CEO said there was no plan to change policy to keep Reddit's anything goes image. "We will try not to interfere - not because we don't care, but because we care that you make your choices between right and wrong," Wong said in a blog post. Later Wong resigned abruptly and Ellen Pao takes over as interim CEO CNNMoney 25 Feb 2015. Neither vengeance nor pornography are acceptable norms of society. Costolo must have taken Wong's sudden resignation as a warning.

Law against Revenge Porn

Revenge porn is a crime in Israel that faces a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment but the punishment had not deter the crime. In October 2013 California had passed law to make revenge pornography illegal but it was criticized for not being comprehensive. The law only prosecute if the distributor is the photographer. Posting your ex-girlfriend's selfie does not count. According to a survey by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), up to 80% of revenge porn victims had taken the photos of themselves. The CCRI is a group founded by revenge porn victims and activists to push for legal reform in the United States. [CNN, October 2013].