Twitter postpones monetizing porn on platform after internal tests show “minefield”

The Twitter network is no stranger to pornography, as the platform has long been favoured by “celebrities” who distribute content that would be automatically blocked on networks like Instagram, Facebook and even TikTok.

Presumably, in a premeditated way, the platform’s administrators have been very loosely managing the rules for posting on Twitter, turning the microblogging platform into a sort of “appetizer” for OnlyFans, luring new subscribers using “curtainless” tweets.

Twitter management’s plan to duplicate Tinder’s success by launching a new premium content section appears to have fallen through the cracks without being put into practice, after a thorough analysis commissioned by the current owner himself revealed that the platform lacks nearly all the technology needed to run an adult content platform. In other words, if launched as such, the adult content section would have every chance of plunging the American company into an endless series of lawsuits, resulting in huge damages.

Apparently, the risk assessment part included a team of 87 employees, put in place to investigate every aspect of interactions resulting from the distribution of adult content. The first and most serious conclusion is that Twitter cannot effectively filter and block content that targets abuse of minors, the technology works on a small scale, but not when it comes to widespread, real-time moderation of Twitter posts. Also, Twitter cannot check in real time whether newly uploaded adult content meets the minimum age criteria of 18.

All of these issues have long been known to giants like Meta and Google, which is why the state of their own social media platforms is a perpetual topic of controversy.

To detect inappropriate content, Twitter uses a Microsoft-developed database called PhotoDNA, which helps platforms quickly identify and remove abusive content. The problem is that the system is far from infallible, with means of avoiding detection already emerging.