Snapchat is currently making moves to restrict the display of sexual content in the section of the app reserved for publishers.
Recently, parent company Snap Inc. updated its the guidelines for the Discover section to more clearly prohibit sexually explicit images and texts.
The change, leans on the the company’s January policy that bans “profanity, overly sexualized content, and violent content” in Discover unless the content is deemed newsworthy.
Discover is Snapchat’s hub for news and entertainment articles featured on from a select group of publishing partners.
According to a source from the company, “ Snap realized the need to clarify its previously-stated objection to “sexually explicit or obscene” content after numerous publishers repeatedly pushed the envelope by showing risqué photos in attempts to get users to tap into their channels.”
Moreover,the stricter policy is also intended to curb the use of overtly suggestive graphics, like emojis that depict genitalia.
However, there are concerns as It is unclear how Snap’s stronger stance on sexual content will affect The Daily Mail in particular. The early Discover partner is regularly one of the app’s most viewed channels and it often posts sexually-charged photos.
According to Snap in a statement, “We are always examining our content guidelines, to make sure they are doing what we intended: to ensure that we can provide a safe, high quality experience for audiences of all ages, while maintaining the editorial independence of publishers and media partners.
“With that goal in mind, we are in the process of strengthening some of the guidelines we last updated in January, which already prohibited content in tiles that was sexually explicit or obscene, unless there was an exception for news.”
The spokesperson also emphasized that Snap doesn’t pre-approve the photo-rich “tiles,” essentially digital magazine covers, that are created by Snapchat’s publishing partners and updated daily. Snapchat also allows publishers to restrict their content to only be viewed by certain ages or show a warning before sensitive content that’s deemed newsworthy.
Since launching in early 2015, Discover has grown to have more than 70 media partners globally with invited publishers sharing ad revenue with Snap.
