Twitter may soon flag 'sensitive' links in tweets

Micro-blogging site Twitter may soon warn users and followers about "sensitive" links that may potentially lead to offensive content like images or videos. In a message to developers, Taylor Singletary of the Twitter Platform team said they are testing a new application programming interface (API) for the new feature. "In the future, we'll have a family of additional API methods & fields for handling end-user 'media settings' and possibly sensitive content," Singletary said. She said there is a new field in Twitter's streaming API that will surface when a tweet contains a link. The field "is an indicator that the URL contained in the tweet may contain content or media identified as sensitive content," she added. According to Twitter's media policy, the site does not mediate content but encourages users to mark their media "as containing sensitive content." "We do not mediate content, whether that content is an image or text; however, some content is not permissible by law. All content should be marked appropriately as per our guidelines. You may not use our service for any unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities. International users agree to comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content," it said in its media policy. The media policy explained that uploaded images that are reported and determined to have violated the law will be removed from the site and the account that posted them will be suspended. An article on tech site Mashable said the upcoming feature is "long overdue" as it gives users " the ability to control the kind of content they or their children are exposed to, letting them use Twitter without fear of being unpleasantly surprised when they click on an inappropriate link." — TJD, GMA News