Twitter’s Vine application caused a stir upon its arrival to the Apple App Store. This video app featured hardcore pornographyin the “Editors Picks” category within days of its release. Apple products, unlike Google’s Android phones, do not allow applications for pornography but have yet to remove Vine from the app store. Instead, they only changed the rating to 17+, which still allows children download it as long as they click “OK” to confirm that they’re above 17.
The only way for young children to be protected is for their parents to ensure that their children don’t have the app on their iOS devices. Many users are creating accounts on Vine as a means to distribute pornography. Account holders are categorizing porn using hashtags to make them easy to find. Twitter did add restrictions to their Vine app to include the removal of hashtags such as “porn” that made it easier to find explicit material but more needs to be done to protect children from viewing this app.
With research today showing that pornography is harmful and sexually exploitative, I wonder why companies aren’t creating policies that restrict the ability for users to upload hardcore pornography. How can a seemingly innocent app turn into a porn site? It happens when there is no one telling them they can’t. This lack of decency and apparent lack of respect for women and children is becoming commonplace because companies are ignoring the issue of pornography and giving pornographers the green light to do whatever they want and in any forum. It is for this reason that Twitter made MIM’s Dirty Dozen List.
The Dirty Dozen list contains 12 of the nation’s leading facilitators of pornography. Social networking sites have become a means for pornographers to exploit women and children and prey on the young people using the sites. We hope to pressure this companies into bettering their policies in order to help protect children, women, and men. Join us in our fight by going to www.PornHarms.com/DirtyDozen.
I encourage you to speak out in your community about the harms from pornography and the everyday apps that are contributing to its spread. Make sure that your family is safe from the obscene material located throughout the Internet and in apps, and especially dissuade your family and friends from using Twitter’s Vine app.
Visit www.PornHarms.com to check out all of MIM’s projects.
