.@tumblr's ill-conceived ban on adult content is yet another example of the troubling gap between the tech sector’s #humanrights commitments and the reality of commercial content governance. @TarletonG @davidakaye @chinmayiarun @cynthiamw @busydot @jhybe @rmack @MichaelSamway
Like many tech companies, @Oath, which owns @tumblr, says all the right things. It embraces a responsibility to “respect and promote” free expression, and even commits to #humanrights impact assessments (rare in the field despite recent wave of scandals). oath.com/our-story/busi…
But what do these mean? In recent UN report, @davidakaye provides roadmap for companies: 1) content restrictions must be clear, transparent and non-discriminatory; 2) meaningful consultation with civil society / rts holders throughout development / implementation… 
…3) consistent / context-sensitive implementation that recognizes limits of automation, draws on diversity of expertise, and ensures professionalization of content moderation workforce. More here: freedex.org/wp-content/blo… Spoiler alert: @tumblr’s adult ban fiasco fails all three.
Let’s look at content of the ban. Right off the bat, ban’s gendered focus on “female-presenting nipples” singles out female body and sexuality for special scrutiny and policing. tumblr.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/artic…
Exceptions avoid hard questions. Nudity “related to political and newsworthy speech” is allowed, but how to decide what is political? Porn can be political! What makes content “newsworthy”? Public figures? Subject matter?
Also, these are just examples. Presumably, there is a policy behind these exceptions, so what is it?
Dec 17 clarification confuses more than clarifies. Erotica is fine, but not “photorealistic imagery or photography.” Even seems to suggest that latter is categorically prohibited (???) So def’n of adult now introduces another distinction based on medium. staff.tumblr.com/post/181199101…
Also unclear how @Tumblr arrived at ban. Was HR impact assessment conducted? What were the findings? Who was consulted? Women’s rights activists? LGBTQ communities? Sex workers? Indigenous peoples? Free expression / digital rights groups? Anyone from Global South?
Announcement of ban drops a mere two weeks before rollout, providing very limited window for user engagement.
Implementation is frankly abysmal. If automated tools are censoring @Tumblr’s own examples of exceptions to ban, how can we expect them to make context-sensitive distinctions btw adult / non-adult content; impermissible / permissible adult content? gizmodo.com/tumblrs-porn-f…
I could go on. @busydot @jhybe will have much better analysis of how @Tumblr’s ban internalizes gendered and puritan approaches to sex and sexuality. Bottomline: Enough is enough. Companies, stop co-opting #humanrights talk unless you are serious about practicing what you preach.
Apologies for typo in second-to-last tweet. *Tumblr admits just as much
