Community Standards
1. Introduction
People use Eyetem to share their experiences, connect with neighbors, and build communities.
We recognize that it is important for Eyetem to be a place where people feel empowered to communicate, and we take seriously our role in keeping abuse off our service. That’s why we’ve developed a set of Community Standards that outline what is and is not allowed on Eyetem.
The goal of our Community Standards has always been to create a place for expression and give people a voice. This has not and will not change. Building community and bringing the world closer together depends on people’s ability to share diverse views, experiences, ideas and information. We want people to be able to talk openly about the issues that matter to them, even if some may disagree or find them objectionable. In some cases, we allow content for public awareness which would otherwise go against our Community Standards – if it is newsworthy and in the public interest. We do this only after weighing the public interest value against the risk of harm and we look to international human rights standards to make these judgments.
Our commitment to expression is paramount, but we recognize the internet creates new and increased opportunities for abuse. For these reasons, when we limit expression, we do it in service of one or more of the following values:
Safety: We are committed to making Eyetem a safe place. Expression that threatens people has the potential to intimidate, exclude or silence others and isn’t allowed on Eyetem.
Privacy: We are committed to protecting personal privacy and information. Privacy gives people the freedom to be themselves, and to choose how and when to share on Eyetem and to connect more easily.
Dignity: We believe that all people are equal in dignity and rights. We expect that people will respect the dignity of others and not harass or degrade others.
Our Community Standards apply to everyone, all around the world, and to all types of content. They’re designed to be comprehensive – for example, content that might not be considered hateful may still be removed for violating a different policy. We recognize that words mean different things or affect people differently depending on their local community, language, or background. We work hard to account for these nuances while also applying our policies consistently and fairly to people and their expression. In the case of certain policies, we require more information and/or context to enforce in line with our Community Standards.
People can report potentially violating content.
The consequences for violating our Community Standards vary depending on the severity of the violation and the person's history on the platform. For instance, we may warn someone for a first violation, but if they continue to violate our policies, we may restrict their ability to post on Eyetem or disable their profile. We also may notify law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or a direct threat to public safety.
Our Community Standards are a guide for what is and isn’t allowed on Eyetem. It is in this spirit that we ask members of the Eyetem community to follow these guidelines.
Please note that the English version of the Community Standards reflects the most up to date set of the policies and should be used as the master document.
2. Violence and Incitement
We aim to prevent potential offline harm that may be related to content on Eyetem. While we understand that people commonly express disdain or disagreement by threatening or calling for violence in non-serious ways, we remove language that incites or facilitates serious violence. We remove content, disable accounts, and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. We also try to consider the language and context in order to distinguish casual statements from content that constitutes a credible threat to public or personal safety. In determining whether a threat is credible, we may also consider additional information like a person's public visibility and the risks to their physical safety.
In some cases, we see aspirational or conditional threats directed at terrorists and other violent actors (e.g. Terrorists deserve to be killed), and we deem those non credible absent specific evidence to the contrary.
Do not post:
Threats that could lead to death (and other forms of high-severity violence) targeting people or places where threat is defined as any of the following:
Statements of intent to commit high-severity violence; or
Calls for high-severity violence including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target and/or includes a visual of an armament to represent violence; or
Statements advocating for high-severity violence; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit high-severity violence
Content that asks or offers services for hire to kill others (for example, hitmen, mercenaries, assassins) or advocates for the use of a hitman, mercenary or assassin against a target.
Admissions, statements of intent or advocacy, calls to action, or aspirational or conditional statements to kidnap a target.
Threats that lead to serious injury (mid-severity violence) towards private individuals, unnamed specified persons, minor public figures, high risk persons, or high risk groups where threat is defined as any of the following:
Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Statements advocating violence; or
Calls for mid-severity violence including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence; or
Content about other target(s) apart from private individuals, minor public figures, high risk persons, or high risk groups and any credible:
Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Calls for action of violence; or
Statements advocating for violence; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence
Threats that lead to physical harm (or other forms of lower-severity violence) towards private individuals (self-reporting required) or minor public figures where threat is defined as any of the following:
Private individuals (name and/or face match are required) or minor public figures that includes:
○ Statements of intent, calls for action, advocating, aspirational or conditional statements to commit low-severity violence
Instructions on how to make or use weapons if there’s evidence of a goal to seriously injure or kill people, through:
Language explicitly stating that goal, or
Photos or videos that show or simulate the end result (serious injury or death) as part of the instruction
Unless the aforementioned content is shared as part of recreational self defense, for military training purposes, commercial video games, or news coverage (posted by Page or with news logo)
Providing instructions on how to make or use explosives:
Unless there is clear context that the content is for a non-violent purpose (for example part of commercial video games, clear scientific/educational purpose, fireworks, or specifically for fishing)
Any content containing statements of intent, calls for action, conditional or aspirational statements, or advocating for violence due to voting, voter registration, or the administration of outcome of an election.
Misinformation and unverifiable rumors that contribute to the risk of imminent violence or physical harm.
Statements of intent or advocacy, calls to action, or aspirational or conditional statements to bring weapons to locations, including but not limited to places of worship, educational facilities polling places, or locations used to count votes or administer an election ( or encouraging others to do the same).
For the following content, we may require more information and/or context in order to enforce
Threats against election officials
3. Dangerous Individuals and Organizations
In an effort to prevent and disrupt real-world harm, we do not allow any organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on Eyetem. This includes organizations or individuals involved in the following:
Terrorist activity
Organized hate
Mass murder (including attempts) or multiple murder
Human trafficking
Organized violence or criminal activity
We also remove content that expresses support or praise for groups, leaders, or individuals involved in these activities.
We do not allow the following people on our platform:
Terrorist organizations and terrorists, which include:
Any non-state actor that:
○ Engages in, advocates, or lends substantial support to purposive and planned acts of violence,
○ Which causes or attempts to cause death, injury or serious harm to civilians, or any other person not taking direct part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, and/or significant damage to property linked to death, serious injury or serious harm to civilians
○ With the intent to coerce, intimidate and/or influence a civilian population, government, or international organization
○ In order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim.
Hate organizations and their leaders and prominent members
A hate organization is defined as:
Any association of three or more people that is organized under a name, sign, or symbol and that has an ideology, statements, or physical actions that attack individuals based on characteristics, including race, religious affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, serious disease or disability.
Mass and multiple murderers (including attempts)
We consider a homicide to be a mass murder if it results in three or more deaths in one incident
We consider an attempted mass murder to be one where an individual uses a weapon or vehicle to attempt mass harm in a public space or against more than one person
We consider any individual who has committed two or more murders over multiple incidents or locations a multiple murderer
Human trafficking groups and their leaders
Human trafficking groups are organizations responsible for any of the following:
Prostitution of others, forced/bonded labor, slavery, or the removal of organs
Recruiting, transporting, transferring, detaining, providing, harboring, or receiving a minor, or an adult against their will
Criminal organizations and their leaders and prominent members
A criminal organization is defined as:
○ Any association of three or more people that is united under a name, color(s), hand gesture(s) or recognized indicia, that has engaged in or threatens to engage in criminal activity, including (but not limited to)
Homicide
Drug trafficking
Arms trafficking
Identity theft
Money laundering
Extortion or trafficking
Assault
Kidnapping
Sexual exploitation
We do not allow symbols that represent any of the above organizations or individuals to be shared on our platform without context that condemns or neutrally discusses the content.
We do not allow content that praises any of the above organizations or individuals or any acts committed by them.
We do not allow coordination of support for any of the above organizations or individuals or any acts committed by them.
We do not allow content that praises, supports, or represents events that Eyetem designates as terrorist attacks, hate events, mass murders or attempted mass murders, serial murders, hate crimes and violating events.
4. Coordinating Harm and Publicizing Crime
In an effort to prevent and disrupt offline harm and copycat behavior, we prohibit people from facilitating, organizing, promoting, or admitting to certain criminal or harmful activities targeted at people, businesses, or property. We allow people to debate and advocate for the legality of criminal and harmful activities, as well as draw attention to harmful or criminal activity that they may witness or experience as long as they do not advocate for or coordinate harm.
Do not post content that falls into the following categories:
Harm against people
Depicting, admitting to or promoting the following acts committed by you or your associates:
Acts of physical harm against humans, including acts of domestic violence, except when shared in a context of redemption or defense of self or another person
Statements of intent, calls to action, representing, supporting, or advocating for, or depicting, admitting to or speaking positively about, the following acts committed by you or your associates:
Swatting
Depicting, promoting, advocating for or encouraging:
Participation in a high risk viral challenge
Harm against property
Statements of intent, calls to action, representing, supporting or advocating for harm against property that depicts, admits to, or promotes the following acts committed by you or your associates:
Vandalism
Hacking when the intent is to hijack a domain, corrupt or disrupt cyber systems, seek ransoms, or gain unauthorized access to data systems
Theft when committed by you or your associates, as well as positive statements about theft when committed by a third party
Voter and/or Census Fraud
Offers to buy or sell votes with cash or gifts
Statements that advocate, provide instructions, or show explicit intent to illegally participate in a voting or census process
Voter and/or Census Interference
Misrepresentation of the dates, locations, and times, and methods for voting or voter registration or census participation
Misrepresentation of who can vote, qualifications for voting, whether a vote will be counted, and what information and/or materials must be provided in order to vote.
Misrepresentation of whether a candidate is running or not
Misrepresentation of who can participate in the census and what information or materials must be provided in order to participate
Calls for coordinated interference that would affect an individual’s ability to participate in the census or an election
Content stating that census or voting participation may or will result in law enforcement consequences (e.g., arrest, deportation, imprisonment)
Content claiming that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is at a voting location
Misrepresentation of government involvement in the census, including that an individual’s census information will be shared with another government agency.
Explicit claims that people will be infected by COVID (or another communicable disease) if they participate in the voting process.
Other misrepresentations related to voting in an official election or census participation may be subject to false news standards, as referenced in section 20
5. Regulated Goods
To encourage safety and compliance with common legal restrictions, we prohibit attempts by individuals, manufacturers, and retailers to purchase, sell, or trade non-medical drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, and marijuana. We also prohibit the purchase, sale, gifting, exchange, and transfer of firearms, including firearm parts or ammunition, between private individuals on Eyetem. Some of these items are not regulated everywhere; however, because of the borderless nature of our community, we try to enforce our policies as consistently as possible. We allow discussions about sales of firearms and firearm parts in stores or by online retailers and advocating for changes to firearm regulation. Regulated goods that are not prohibited by our Community Standards may be subject to our more stringent Commerce Policies.
Do not post:
Firearms content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift or solicit firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements between private individuals
Non-medical drugs content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit non-medical drugs
Admits to buying or trading non-medical drugs by the poster of the content by themselves or through others
Admits to personal use without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage
Promotes, encourages, coordinates or provides instructions for use or make of non-medical drugs
Marijuana and pharmaceutical drugs content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit marijuana or pharmaceutical drugs
Alcohol / Tobacco content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift alcohol or tobacco products
Endangered species content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit endangered species or their parts
Admits to poaching, buying or trading of endangered species and their parts committed by the poster of the content either by themselves or through others
Depicts poaching of endangered species and their parts committed by the poster of the content by themselves or through others
Speaks positively of the poaching of endangered species and their parts
Promotes, encourages, or coordinates the poaching of endangered species and their parts
Live non-endangered animals content that:
Attempts to buy, sell or trade live non-endangered animals between private individuals.
Human blood content that:
Attempts to buy, sell, or trade human blood
Solicits human blood unless for a donation or a gift
6. Fraud and Deception
In an effort to prevent and disrupt harmful or fraudulent activity, we remove content aimed at deliberately deceiving people to gain an unfair advantage or deprive another of money, property, or legal right. However, we allow people to raise awareness and educate others as well as condemn these activities using our platform.
Do not post content that engages in, promotes, encourages, facilitates, or admits to the following activities
Offering, solicitation and trade of:
Goods/property purchased with stolen financial information
Future exam papers or answer sheets where answers are not meant to be widely shared
Educational and professional certificates
Credentials for paid subscription services
Fake user reviews
Fake or manipulated documents, e.g. coupons, medical prescriptions
Fake or counterfeit currency
Offering or selling of personally identifiable information
Coordination or facilitation of betting manipulation, e.g. match fixing
Recruitment of workforce for the purpose of fraudulent activities, e.g. Social Security Number (SSN) scams
Other forms of deception aimed at depriving people of money or property such as:
Confidence schemes, e.g. romance/military impersonation scams
Ponzi schemes or Pyramid schemes
Setting up false businesses or entities
Investment schemes with promise of high rates of return
Bribery
Embezzlement
Money laundering (concealment of the origins of criminally obtained money)
Charity scams or fake fundraising campaigns
Debt Relief or Credit Repair Scam
7. Suicide and Self-Injury
In an effort to promote a safe environment on Eyetem, we remove content that encourages suicide or self-injury, including certain graphic imagery, real-time depictions, and fictional content that experts tell us might lead others to engage in similar behavior. Self-injury is defined as the intentional and direct injuring of the body, including self-mutilation and eating disorders.
We remove any content that identifies and negatively targets victims or survivors of self-injury or suicide seriously, humorously, or rhetorically.
8. Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Nudity
We do not allow content that sexually exploits or endangers children. When we become aware of apparent child exploitation, we report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in compliance with applicable law.
We may also work with external experts to discuss and improve our policies and enforcement around online safety issues, especially with regard to children.
9. Sexual Exploitation of Adults
We recognize the importance of Eyetem as a place to discuss and draw attention to sexual violence and exploitation. We believe this is an important part of building common understanding and community. In an effort to create space for this conversation while promoting a safe environment, we remove content that depicts, threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault, or sexual exploitation, while also allowing space for victims to share their experiences. We remove content that displays, advocates for, or coordinates sexual acts with non-consenting parties or commercial sexual services, such as prostitution and escort services. We do this to avoid facilitating transactions that may involve trafficking, coercion, and non-consensual sexual acts.
To protect victims and survivors, we also remove content that depict incidents of sexual violence and intimate images shared without permission from the people involved.
10. Bullying and Harassment
Bullying and harassment happen in many places and come in many different forms, from making threats to releasing personally identifiable information, to sending threatening messages, and making unwanted malicious contact. We do not tolerate this kind of behavior because it prevents people from feeling safe and respected on Eyetem.
We distinguish between public figures and private individuals because we want to allow discussion, which often includes critical commentary of people who are featured in the news or who have a large public audience. For public figures, we remove attacks that are severe as well as certain attacks where the public figure is directly identified in the post or comment. For private individuals, our protection goes further: we remove content that's meant to degrade or shame, including, for example, claims about someone's sexual activity.
Context and intent matter, and we allow people to share if it is clear that something was shared in order to condemn or draw attention to bullying and harassment. In certain instances, we require self-reporting because it helps us understand that the person targeted feels bullied or harassed. In addition to reporting such behavior and content, we encourage people to use tools available on Eyetem to help protect against it.
11. Human Exploitation
In an effort to disrupt and prevent harm, we remove content that facilitates or coordinates the exploitation of humans, including human trafficking. We define human trafficking as the business of depriving someone of liberty for profit. It is the exploitation of humans in order to force them to engage in commercial sex, labor, or other activities against their will. It relies on deception, force and coercion, and degrades humans by depriving them of their freedom while economically or materially benefiting others.
Human trafficking is multi-faceted and global; it can affect anyone regardless of age, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, gender, or location. It takes many forms, and any given trafficking situation can involve various stages of development. By the coercive nature of this abuse, victims cannot consent.
While we need to be careful not to conflate human trafficking and smuggling, the two can be related and exhibit overlap. The United Nations defines human smuggling as the procurement or facilitation of illegal entry into a state across international borders. Without necessity for coercion or force, it may still result in the exploitation of vulnerable individuals who are trying to leave their country of origin, often in pursuit of a better life. Human smuggling is a crime against a state, relying on movement, and human trafficking is a crime against a person, relying on exploitation.
12. Privacy Violations
Privacy and the protection of personal information are fundamentally important values for Eyetem. We work hard to keep your account secure and safeguard your personal information in order to protect you from potential physical or financial harm. You should not post personal or confidential information about others without first getting their consent. We also provide people ways to report content that they believe to be in violation of their privacy rights.
13. Hate Speech
We do not allow hate speech on Eyetem because it creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion and in some cases may promote real-world violence.
We define hate speech as a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, and serious disease or disability. We define attack as violent or dehumanizing speech,harmful stereotypes, statements of inferiority, or calls for exclusion or segregation. We separate attacks into three tiers of severity, as described below.
Sometimes people share content containing someone else’s hate speech for the purpose of raising awareness or educating others. In some cases, words or terms that might otherwise violate our standards are used self-referentially or in an empowering way. In these cases, we allow the content but expect people to clearly indicate their intent, which helps us better understand why they shared it. Where the intention is unclear, we may remove the content.
In addition, we believe that people are more responsible when they share this kind of commentary using their authentic identity.
14. Violent and Graphic Content
We remove content that glorifies violence or celebrates the suffering or humiliation of others because it may create an environment that discourages participation. We know that people value the ability to discuss important issues like human rights abuses or acts of terrorism. We also know that people have different sensitivities with regard to graphic and violent content.
15. Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity
We restrict the display (including linking to display) of nudity or sexual activity because some people in our community may be sensitive to this type of content. Additionally, we default to removing sexual imagery (including linking to imagery) to prevent the sharing of non-consensual or underage content. Restrictions on the display of sexual activity also apply to digitally created content.
Our nudity policies have become more nuanced over time. We understand that nudity can be shared for a variety of reasons, including as a form of protest, to raise awareness about a cause, or for educational or medical reasons. Where such intent is clear, we make allowances for the content. For example, while we restrict some images (including linking to imagery) of female breasts that include the nipple, we allow other images, including those depicting acts of protest, women actively engaged in breast-feeding, and photos of post-mastectomy scarring.
16. Sexual Solicitation
People may use Eyetem to discuss and draw attention to sexual violence and exploitation. We recognize the importance of and want to allow for this discussion. We draw the line, however, when content facilitates, encourages or coordinates sexual encounters between adults. We also restrict sexually explicit language that may lead to solicitation because some audiences within our global community may be sensitive to this type of content and it may impede the ability for people to connect with their friends and the broader community.
17. Cruel and Insensitive
We believe that people share and connect more freely when they do not feel targeted based on their vulnerabilities. As such, we have higher expectations for content that we call cruel and insensitive, which we define as content that targets victims of serious physical or emotional harm. We remove explicit attempts to mock victims and mark as cruel implicit attempts, many of which take the form of memes and GIFs (including linking to such content).
18. Cybersecurity
We recognize that the safety of our users extends to the security of their personal information. Attempts to gather sensitive personal information by deceptive or invasive methods are harmful to the authentic, open, and safe atmosphere that we want to foster. Therefore, we do not allow attempts to gather sensitive user information through the abuse of our platform and products.
Do not attempt to compromise user accounts or gather sensitive information through unauthorized means, defined as:
Gaining access to any account or user data other than your own without explicit permission from the account owner.
Encouraging or deceiving users and entities to download or run files or programs that will compromise a user’s online or data security. Such files and programs will be deemed malicious software or "malware" if they harm or gain unauthorized access to a computer, device, or network.
Acquiring or requesting another user’s login credentials, whether explicitly or through deceptive means such as phishing (e.g. fake surveys designed to capture log-in info or links to fake login pages or impostor websites).
Attempting to obtain the sensitive information of others such as usernames, passwords, or other personal information, through deceptive means or the use of malicious software or websites.
Publicly sharing your own or others’ login information on platform or through a third party service.
Creating, sharing, or hosting malicious software or malicious browser extensions to compromise accounts or gain access to user data.
Providing online infrastructure, including Web Hosting Services, Domain Name System servers, and ad networks that enables abusive links such that a majority of those links on Eyetem violate this section result in spam.