Twitter's Child Sexual Exploitation Policy

Overview

October 2020

We have a zero-tolerance child sexual exploitation policy on Twitter.

Twitter has zero tolerance towards any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation, one of the most serious violations of the Twitter Rules. This may include media, text, illustrated, or computer-generated images. Regardless of the intent, viewing, sharing, or linking to child sexual exploitation material contributes to the re-victimization of the depicted children. This also applies to content that may further contribute to victimization of children through the promotion or glorification of child sexual exploitation. For the purposes of this policy, a minor is any person under the age of 18.

What is in violation of this policy?

Any content that depicts or promotes child sexual exploitation including, but not limited to:

visual depictions of a child engaging in sexually explicit or sexually suggestive acts;

illustrated, computer-generated or other forms of realistic depictions of a human child in a sexually explicit context, or engaging in sexually explicit acts;

sexualized commentaries about or directed at a known or unknown minor; and

links to third-party sites that host child sexual exploitation material.

The following behaviors are also not permitted:

sharing fantasies about or promoting engagement in child sexual exploitation;

expressing a desire to obtain materials that feature child sexual exploitation;

recruiting, advertising or expressing an interest in a commercial sex act involving a child, or in harboring and/or transporting a child for sexual purposes;

sending sexually explicit media to a child;

engaging or trying to engage a child in a sexually explicit conversation;

trying to obtain sexually explicit media from a child or trying to engage a child in sexual activity through blackmail or other incentives;

identifying alleged victims of childhood sexual exploitation by name or image; and

promoting or normalizing sexual attraction to minors as a form of identity or sexual orientation.

What is not a violation of this policy?

Discussions related to child sexual exploitation are permitted, provided they don’t normalise, promote or glorify child sexual exploitation in any way;

Conversations about help-seeking behaviour of individuals who may struggle with an attraction to minors;

Advocacy against illegal or harmful activity involving minors provided there is no sharing of, or linking to any material featuring child sexual exploitation; and

Depictions of nude minors in a non-sexualized context or setting may be permitted in a limited number of scenarios (e.g., art works by internationally renowned artists that feature minors, news media reportage, media created and shared for scientific or educational purposes).

Who can report violations of this policy?

Anyone can report potential violations of this policy, whether they have a Twitter account or not.

How can I report violations of this policy?

If you think you've found a Twitter account distributing or promoting child sexual exploitation, you can report it via our child sexual exploitation form. Provide the username and links to all relevant Tweets that led you to believe the account should be reviewed.

What happens if you violate this policy?

In the majority of cases, the consequence for violating our child sexual exploitation policy is immediate and permanent suspension. In addition, violators will be prohibited from creating any new accounts in the future. Note: when we’re made aware of content depicting or promoting child sexual exploitation, including links to third party sites where this content can be accessed, they will be removed without further notice and reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

In a limited number of situations, where we haven’t identified any malicious intent, we will require you to remove this content. We will also temporarily lock you out of your account before you can Tweet again. Further violations will lead to your account being permanently suspended. If you believe that your account was suspended in error, you can submit an appeal.

Additional resources

Learn more about our range of enforcement options and our approach to policy development and enforcement.

If you’ve found content elsewhere on the internet that is distributing or promoting child sexual exploitation, you should file a report with NCMEC, or with your local law enforcement. If you believe the content is hosted on a website outside of the United States, you can report it on the International Association of Internet Hotlines website.

We partner with multiple organisations whose work is dedicated to fighting child sexual exploitation around the world. Please see the full list of our child protection partners.