This article is more than 1 year old

I don't see dead people: Twitter to nix some images of deceased folk

Family members can submit takedown requests

Twitter users whose loved ones have recently died can now submit requests for the removal of distressing photos and videos of the deceased to the micro-blogging company.

It comes after the late actor Robin Williams' daughter Zelda said she was ditching social media following a stream of abuse that she received about her father's suicide.

Twitter's public policy flack Nu Wexler said that the firm would remove images posted on its service "in certain circumstances."

He added:

Immediate family members and other authorised individuals may request the removal of images or video of deceased individuals, from when critical injury occurs to the moments before or after death, by sending an email to privacy@twitter.com.

Twitter said that it would mull over "public interest factors such as the newsworthiness of the content" before deciding whether to yank presumably distressing imagery from its service.

The company has now tagged details of the policy tweak on the end of its "deceased user" advice page.

Zelda Williams reportedly received tweets containing mocked-up photos of her dad's death. The Hollywood star took his own life on 11 August.

Earlier today, Twitter began suspending the accounts of users who shared brutal images that appeared to show the beheading of American journalist James Foley, who was abducted in Syria two years ago. ®

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