Social media has made the world an interconnected place. The diversity of content on different platforms is simply mind-boggling. While there’s a lot of educational and inspirational content on social media, there’s also harmful content. Illegal content, like weapons activity, instructional theft videos, and extremely dangerous challenges, are also part of these platforms.
Social media channels do their best to remove or restrict this type of content. However, it is not possible to erase it completely from everywhere. If you are a content creator or love spending time on social media, you must be aware of illegal content.
Let’s find out more about it below. We will cover the top three most popular social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
Content Prohibited on YouTube
We all love spending time on YouTube. Most people are so addicted to their favorite creators that they can’t imagine missing out on any of their content. That’s why they take all possible steps to stop buffering when streaming videos so they can watch them uninterruptedly.
YouTube doesn’t allow the streaming of illegal activities. Here’s an overview of content that falls under this category.
1. Harmful or Dangerous Content
Harmful or dangerous content includes the following:
- Challenges that risk physical injury or cause emotional distress in minors.
- Content that tells the viewer how to perform activities that involve killing. It also includes content related to instructions about making an explosive device.
- Illegal content teaching how to steal someone’s physical assets. This category contains content that depicts how to get unauthorized access to content.
- Age-restricted content. This can include content like adults misuse of fireworks or showing adults using fake injuries or blood.
2. Violent or Graphic Content
This type of illegal content can fall into the following categories:
- Inciting others to commit acts of violence. It also includes content that shows scenarios that involve torture, corpses, street fights, physical attacks, etc.
- Content where animals are abused. This can be malicious treatment of animals for food preparation, hunting, or just for pleasure.
- Dramatized content, such as footage of a deadly violent event.
3. Content That Praises or Helps Criminal or Violent Extremist Organizations
This involves content that praises or justifies the violent attacks performed by criminal organizations. It includes content showing hostages or one that glorifies a violent tragedy.
4. Hate Speech
Hate speech content is related to inciting hatred or violence against individuals or groups. The hatred can be promoted based on one or more of various attributes. These include disability, age, caste, nationality, race, etc.
5. Harassment or Cyberbullying Content
Harassment or cyberbullying content includes content that insults someone repeatedly. This includes slurs based on the target’s age, disability, gender, etc. It also includes illegal content that’s uploaded to shame or insult a minor.
Content Prohibited on Instagram
Illegal content on Instagram includes content that violates its community guidelines or terms of service. The following are the types of content posting that can get you banned on the platform.
1. Posting Unlawful Content
Here’s a list of the kinds of illegal content that break the Instagram law:
- Supporting hate groups or organized crime
- Buying or selling firearms, illegal drugs, or sexual services
- Sexual content involving minors
2. Nudity or Graphic Sexual Content
This includes content photos and videos that depict sexual intercourse. It also includes images of genitals and zoomed-in photos of fully nude buttocks and female nipples.
3. Violation of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights are violated when you post content you don’t have the intellectual rights over. This means that you don’t have the right to use this content.
It belongs to someone else. You cannot copy the content from the internet and post it as your own on Instagram.
4. Illegal Content Related to Self-Injury and Graphic Violence
Instagram deems content promoting self-injury, such as eating disorders, illegal. It only allows this content if it is for the purpose of education.
Similarly, content related to graphic violence is also prohibited. This includes images or videos that showcase intense violence. It is only allowed if it concerns raising awareness or educating people.
Content That Is Illegal on Facebook
On Facebook, there are various categories of unacceptable content. Content falling under any of the categories below is considered illegal.
1. Violence and Criminal Behavior
This includes content related to one or more of the following:
- Organized hate
- Terrorist activity
- Mass murder
- Organized violence
- Human trafficking
- Regulated goods
2. Safety
Facebook considers content that has a risk of threat to public safety or physical harm illegal. It includes self-injury or suicide-related content. Facebook also considers child nudity, harassment, and sexual violence content as illegal.
3. Objectionable Content
Objectionable content comprises the following:
- Hate speech
- Graphic violence
- Adult nudity or sexual activity
- Content targeting victims of emotional or physical abuse.
4. Integrity and Authenticity
This includes the following:
- Misrepresentation of oneself
- Disseminating inaccurate or misleading information to gain followers or likes
- Content that spreads false news
5. Content Owned by Someone Else
Facebook considers posting content that doesn’t belong to you to be illegal content. It actively bans such type of content.
According to Facebook, you own everything you post. If you don’t own something, you must give credit to the person to whom it belongs.
Also Read About The Role of Due Diligence in Live Stream Copyright Protection
Summing Up
To conclude, it’s crucial to follow every social media site’s rules and guidelines when posting content. By sharing illegal content, you are potentially risking the lives of your followers or subscribers.
At the same time, if you come across such content on any platform, you must report it immediately. It will prevent activities that can risk the lives of innocent people.
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