[info] More on LJ's TOS and illegal content guidelines
Hello, all. I just wanted to follow up on yesterday's post about allowable content on LJ.
They posted clarification on the journal suspensions of ponderosa121 and elaboration. Note that it was posted on the lj_biz comm, not one of the main news comms, and that LJ has created an staff journal (presumably because Abe made himself pretty fucking unpopular by trying to be ironic).
Here are some of the most pertinent quotes from their post. The emphasis is mine.
* How do these policies apply to images of minors who are not real?
To ensure that we are compliant with child pornography laws, we have decided to treat any content which contains a graphic visual depiction of a minor (anyone under the age of 18, as defined by Federal and California state law) engaged in sexually explicit conduct as a violation of our policy regarding illegal content (see this link for definitions of graphic, visual depiction, and sexually explicit conduct). We feel this approach creates the clearest guidelines possible for users to follow and for the Abuse Prevention Team to enforce, and minimizes the risk of an incorrect evaluation of material. In short, we want to eliminate child porn from being hosted on LiveJournal.
* How do these policies apply to text?
Written material -- fictional or not -- is also subject to Federal laws. But as we stated in a previous post, over the years we've looked at thousands of reported journals and communities and we rarely have come across a case of creative fiction or fanfic text that warrants review.
...
* Does content that is posted behind a friends lock, as private or under a custom friends filter have to conform to the same standards of acceptability as content that is available publicly? Does content posted on a journal that contains advertising have to conform to the same standard?
Yes, these are held to the same standards. Content must first be reported to the Abuse Prevention Team. If the report contains information which gives the team a reasonable expectation to find a serious violation of our policies present, they will investigate. If there is no strong evidence provided to give the Abuse Prevention Team reasonable expectation of finding a major violation of our policies, the content will not be reviewed.
...
* If a paid or permanent account holder is suspended is there any avenue available for them to request a refund from LiveJournal and/or Six Apart for their unused paid time? If not, can you give a reason for this?
As stated in our Terms of Service, "Paid accounts are nontransferable and non-refundable." While a limited number of exceptions to this rule are made under some circumstances, accounts suspended for violations of the Terms of Service will not be refunded.
The short version is this: If you're drawing fanart for characters who are underage and like to get it on with each other, LJ doesn't want you here. If you write for characters who are underage, you aren't in trouble--yet.
And LJ/6A will be relying on reports from users about other users regarding unacceptable material. I've got two words for that--witch hunt.
What it means for me is that I will never give LJ/6A another penny of my money, and encourage everyone else to do the same (assuming they're sticking around LJ, and haven't sailed off to greener pastures).
It also means that I won't be hosting fic on LJ anymore. I'm going to be putting up an alternate site for my fics, and will update this journal like a feed whenever I post fic there. I've already taken down the handful of smutfics featuring assorted tennis boys that this journal did have on it (at least, the ones that might be considered "childporn" and just thank the fishes and frogs that I have a penchant for AUs and futurefics), and once I get my alterna-archive posted, I'll be replacing the old entries with links to the offsite versions.
Sorry for the tl;dr post, but this is something I feel pretty strongly about, and I'm trying to get the word out as much as I can.
They posted clarification on the journal suspensions of ponderosa121 and elaboration. Note that it was posted on the lj_biz comm, not one of the main news comms, and that LJ has created an staff journal (presumably because Abe made himself pretty fucking unpopular by trying to be ironic).
Here are some of the most pertinent quotes from their post. The emphasis is mine.
* How do these policies apply to images of minors who are not real?
To ensure that we are compliant with child pornography laws, we have decided to treat any content which contains a graphic visual depiction of a minor (anyone under the age of 18, as defined by Federal and California state law) engaged in sexually explicit conduct as a violation of our policy regarding illegal content (see this link for definitions of graphic, visual depiction, and sexually explicit conduct). We feel this approach creates the clearest guidelines possible for users to follow and for the Abuse Prevention Team to enforce, and minimizes the risk of an incorrect evaluation of material. In short, we want to eliminate child porn from being hosted on LiveJournal.
* How do these policies apply to text?
Written material -- fictional or not -- is also subject to Federal laws. But as we stated in a previous post, over the years we've looked at thousands of reported journals and communities and we rarely have come across a case of creative fiction or fanfic text that warrants review.
...
* Does content that is posted behind a friends lock, as private or under a custom friends filter have to conform to the same standards of acceptability as content that is available publicly? Does content posted on a journal that contains advertising have to conform to the same standard?
Yes, these are held to the same standards. Content must first be reported to the Abuse Prevention Team. If the report contains information which gives the team a reasonable expectation to find a serious violation of our policies present, they will investigate. If there is no strong evidence provided to give the Abuse Prevention Team reasonable expectation of finding a major violation of our policies, the content will not be reviewed.
...
* If a paid or permanent account holder is suspended is there any avenue available for them to request a refund from LiveJournal and/or Six Apart for their unused paid time? If not, can you give a reason for this?
As stated in our Terms of Service, "Paid accounts are nontransferable and non-refundable." While a limited number of exceptions to this rule are made under some circumstances, accounts suspended for violations of the Terms of Service will not be refunded.
The short version is this: If you're drawing fanart for characters who are underage and like to get it on with each other, LJ doesn't want you here. If you write for characters who are underage, you aren't in trouble--yet.
And LJ/6A will be relying on reports from users about other users regarding unacceptable material. I've got two words for that--witch hunt.
What it means for me is that I will never give LJ/6A another penny of my money, and encourage everyone else to do the same (assuming they're sticking around LJ, and haven't sailed off to greener pastures).
It also means that I won't be hosting fic on LJ anymore. I'm going to be putting up an alternate site for my fics, and will update this journal like a feed whenever I post fic there. I've already taken down the handful of smutfics featuring assorted tennis boys that this journal did have on it (at least, the ones that might be considered "childporn" and just thank the fishes and frogs that I have a penchant for AUs and futurefics), and once I get my alterna-archive posted, I'll be replacing the old entries with links to the offsite versions.
Sorry for the tl;dr post, but this is something I feel pretty strongly about, and I'm trying to get the word out as much as I can.