Twitter has also become the focus of Medienanstalt Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein (MA HSH) because of publicly accessible pornographic content from Germany. The regulator announced that it is launching a formal case against the platform.
Freely accessible pornographic content has been noticed on Twitter, according to a statement by MA HSH. We are talking about "profiles promoting sexual services and products (Sexcam, porno films)". Through the profiles photographs and videos are available, "which show focused and unaltered sexual acts". Since the contents have no age limit, they are also children and young people freely accessible, writes the media institute.
On SPIEGEL demand it says of the authority that there are a total of about 20 Twitter profiles. However, it can be assumed that there are other similarly problematic accounts.
Without registration for each retrievable
The contents, MA HSH confirms to the SPIEGEL, could also be accessed by internet users who do not have a Twitter account themselves. Some of the content may be preceded by a warning, but it can simply be clicked away. A reliable age verification does not take place.
The MA HSH statement states that anyone who makes pornographic content publicly accessible in Germany commits an administrative offense under the Youth Media Protection Treaty and is also liable to prosecution. As a host provider, Twitter is responsible for their removal from the knowledge of pornographic content.
According to MA HSH, the fact that Twitter has knowledge of the content complained of is undisputed: The authority states that it itself informed the service about the profiles after it itself had received a reference. However, Twitter did not comply with MA HSH's request to delete or block the profiles with reference to Irish law.
Twitter has now been "asked again for youth protection compliant rectification", writes the media institute. If Twitter does not respond promptly to this request, it intends to continue the "with the aim of a fine and a prohibition involving the Youth Media Protection Commission". If need be, she says, she also wants to consult with the Irish regulators through the European Regulators Group on Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA).
Markings as "sensitive"
Twitter's November 2019 "Sensitive Media Policy" states that users are not allowed to "share adult content in live video, profile or header images." Who would like to share such content in his tweets, they must mark in his account settings as "sensitive": "In this way, a warning message is placed in front of the images and videos."
Users need to confirm this warning before they can see the media, Twitter says, "This feature will allow people who do not want to see sensitive media to avoid or consciously opt for content anyway see."
In principle, "consensual and widespread media that is pornographic in nature or intended to provoke sexual arousal" does not violate the platform rules under the guidelines. However, one passage in the guideline states that "accounts that are only there to post sensitive media" may be permanently blocked.
