Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content moderation?

Posted by chickenpotpie on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @07:45PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I've been laughing/screaming in confusion at how ridiculously laissez-faire Snapchat's spotlight feed is. I was using it one day and encountered some mildly sexual content and reported it. I was mildly shocked that they responded within minutes that it didn't violate their terms. I've been on a strange journey of intentionally watching explicit content to get Snapchat to recommend me more and more sexual content. I have reported videos of women literally striping down to nothing and smelling their underwear and everytime Snapchat has emailed me back to tell me that it didn't violate their policy. I also see that Snapchat's minimum age requirement is 13. How is Snapchat showing pornography to minors with no repercussions?

( 14 comments | 17 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by throwawaysleep on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:00PM (#33889378)

1. The relatively closed ecosystem and relatively short lifespan of content on there. Ever had anyone link to anything on Snapchat to you? A wave of outrage cannot build without whatever is outrageous moving beyond the initial group.

2. It is pornography, not hate or violence. None of the big moderation waves have been about porn (other than child porn). Marketing routinely uses content that is just short of pornography. On a societal level, especially in an internet age, there are next to no restrictions on its access. A quick Google search told me that the average age a kid first watches porn is 10-13. It is fairly abundant on Facebook and Twitter as far as I can tell. Society in general shows porn to minors with no repercussions.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by Phanyxx on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @07:51PM (#33889298)

There needs to be some sort of trigger for the media and/or a critical mass of people to care. Tiktok has the China and data harvesting angle. Facebook has an unlikable founder (sorry, Zuck), and slew of headline generating scandals with user data.

Snapchat just isn't on the radar of people who care about content moderation… yet.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by ChildOfChaos on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @08:37AM (#33894166)

I don't understand the issue.

Are Minors producing the content? Or is there merely a risk that they will consume it?

A simple google search will give them the same results, so why is this on Snapchat? Are you going to complain that Firefox doesn't do content moderation?

You asked how they are getting away with no content moderation yet, you also said that the moderation team replied in minutes, so clearly they are moderating and are on top of things, you just didn't agree with there choice. Also you mention about purposely gaming the algorithm to show you such content, again how is this different to using a search engine to directly find the content?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by gardenhedge on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @07:47PM (#33889274)

Probably because all content on snapchat needs to be explicitly followed. You don't get exposed to it otherwise unlike instagram (explore tab, reels), reddit, twitter, etc

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by chickenpotpie on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:02PM (#33889386)

That's not how Snapchat spotlight works. It's basically TikTok. A user just scrolls up through recommended videos.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by gardenhedge on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:05PM (#33889418)

Oh, I guess it's been a long while since I've used Snapchat

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by version_five on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:19PM (#33889547)

Maybe ask why you care so much and why you think someone else needs to do something. Why not just not use it if it's something you don't like.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by badrabbit on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @10:17PM (#33890256)

Because minors are involved and you know... that's illegal and commonly considered harmful especially before they had proper sexual education.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by thinking4real on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @12:54AM (#33891082)

This attitude is way too prevalent for how badly society is crumbling

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by throwaway23597 on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:10PM (#33889468)

Snap is crazy, man. It's not just pornographic content. Back in high school, kids used to just openly sell drugs on that platform. Snap stories very blatantly selling weed, lsd, shrooms, cocaine, etc. I was honestly appalled at the time but apparently police never picked up on the situation. I imagine that things are even more intensified today, if anything.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by tiffanyh on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @12:06AM (#33890814)

Sounds like Tumblr back-in-the-day.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by bradwood on Thursday December 08, 2022 @02:50AM (#33905379)

Scantily clad women smelling underwear might be a bit saucy, but it doesn't sound like porno to me.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by 1B05H1N on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @03:53AM (#33892162)

Sex sells, welcome to the internet.

[ Parent | on HN ]

[dead]

Re:Ask HN: How is Snapchat getting away with no content mode... by quickthrower2 on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @06:05AM (#33893013)

Tell me you are not a parent without…

[ Parent | on HN ]