Social media site Reddit has decided to ban posts that are sexually suggestive or images that are exploiting minors.
After years of criticism and controversy, the site announced that it would ban all subreddits that harp on sexualization of minors.
According to a statement released by the company, “We have changed our policy because interpreting the vague and debated legal guidelines on a case by case basis has become a massive distraction and risks reddit being pulled in to legal quagmire. A necessary change in policy.”
Their decision to do so was in response to criticisms on the site community chat boards over a subreddit.
One user said, “My guees is it’s similar to /r/jailbait, a mix of photos from creeps lurking around on Facebook, from the seedier corners of the Internet, and a few tamer photos that could be seen in /r/pics. It might not be illegal, but it sure as hell is disturbing, and might break the ‘Don’t post personal info’ rule.”
Site administrators shut down “Jailbait” section last year after a 14 year old girl’s photo was posted. The photograph shows explicit and lewd images of the girl.
Reddit also added, “We understand that this might make some of your worried about the slippery slope from banning one specific type of content to banning other types of content. We’re concerned about that too, and do not make this policy change lightly or without careful deliberation. We will tirelessly defend the right to freely share information on reddit in any way we can, even if it is offensive or discusses something that may be illegal.”
Image source: geeks.thedailywh.at
