Twitter to Remove Images of Deceased upon Family’s Request

Following the release of a video purporting to show ISIS beheading captured journalist James Foley, Twitter announced Tuesday night that it would remove images of the deceased in certain circumstances, namely at the family’s request:

Twitter policy on media concerning a deceased user: https://t.co/ihTlW4kkq9 pic.twitter.com/2DHx82hDKI

— Nu Wexler (@wexler) August 19, 2014

As you can tell, Twitter left itself plenty of outs, including the “newsworthiness” of the images. In Foley’s case journalists and others actually discouraged the sharing of images from the video, which was rapidly taken down by YouTube. (Some didn’t get the memo). Tuesday night Twitter began suspended accounts that were sharing gruesome stills of Foley’s beheading.

Per Reuters, “Facebook Inc also allows verified immediate family members to request the removal of a deceased person’s Facebook account.”

[Image via Bloom Design / Shutterstock.com]

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>> Follow Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) on Twitter

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