Tougher community guidelines on social media result in deleted accounts for many and ever increasing censorship is now impacting dating apps.
DIGITAL safe space is being eroded and censorship seems to be the go to option for governments and companies around the world with anything that’s a bit queer or a bit sexual at the top of the hit list.
Squirt.Org, where men meet other men for sex, fun, and friendship, have launched the #CensorshipSucks campaign to allow people to have their voices heard and tackle what the site sees as the threat of censorship of adult websites.
A spokesperson from Squirt.org said: “Here at Squirt.org, we love sex. We think that sex is a good thing, and that our bodies – whatever the shape, size, colour, or age – are beautiful and should be celebrated. We believe that there’s nothing wrong with getting your clothes off – that there’s no shame attached to nakedness.
“Obviously, not everyone feels the same way. Differences of opinion about sexual expression aren’t a new thing, but there appears to be a growing shift to a more socially conservative outlook on the world. Obviously, if you own the platform – if you’re someone like Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, or YouTube – then you get to decide what content you’re going to allow your users to publish. We might not like the decisions they make, or the way they go about it, but they get to make the rules.
“However, censorship impacts us all, and it can often be in quite unexpected ways. Hook-up apps are being forced to introduce new guidelines for user profile photos. The new guidelines specify that, “photos in underwear, jockstraps or bikini style bathing suits are no longer permitted in profile photos.” Given that these are gay hook-up apps, on the face of it that seems like an odd move. But, they have been backed into a corner. They rely on app stores to distribute their service to users, and app stores are becoming increasingly cautious and conservative when it comes to anything that might be considered adult-oriented.
“From a Squirt.org perspective, we don’t rely on app stores to connect with our members, so we’ve been fortunate to dodge that particular bullet. However, we’re acutely aware that censorship of adult and sex-positive content is only increasing. We can’t be complacent. The rising tide of censorship and online regulation could soon put us all out of business, making it no longer feasible for us to provide the types of services and content that our members value – services and content that also play an important role in our community.
“So, we want to take a stand. We want to send a message. We can’t stay silent in the face of increasing censorship.”
Support for the #CensorshipSucks campaign from Squirt.org users:
“A society that is comfortable with every detail of violence being broadcast on every channel but not comfortable with the broadcasting of examples of the love, lust, compassion, caring, and sexual freedom the porn industry portrays, is a society that seriously needs to reconsider their viewing priorities.” – Jack Andy (@jackandyxxx)
“The whole point about the internet is the freedom to post or create media without censorship. A world with online censorship brings us back to the 1980s. Being a Model and Director in Gay Porn, I think it’s crazy since many men like to and do express themselves in a sexual and more natural manner.
“People shouldn’t be censored on what they want to express sexually. Even censoring nude photography is a big shame as that’s art, art of the male form. We are now in 2019, censoring things online is quite ridiculous and a step backwards as it’s nothing new and nothing to be ashamed of – people and companies have been doing this a long time.” – DICE (@DiceInPDXXX)
For more information and to get involved, view: www.Squirt.org
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