Reddit has launched a brand new public content material coverage that lays out a framework for the way companions and third events can entry user-posted content material on its website. This coverage will apply alongside the positioning’s existing privacy policy, which covers how Reddit handles personal consumer information, and its current content policy, which covers what kind of content material is allowed on the platform.
In a win for consumer privateness, the brand new coverage dramatically limits what exterior events can do with the content material customers submit.
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“We consider within the open web,” an announcement about the policy begins. “We additionally consider that privateness is a proper.”
The submit explains that increasingly firms are utilizing unsavory means to entry consumer information in bulk, together with Reddit posts. As soon as an organization will get this information, there isn’t any restrict to what it may do with it.
Reddit will proceed to dam “unhealthy actors” that use unauthorized strategies to get information, the corporate says, nevertheless it’s taking extra steps to maintain customers secure from the positioning’s companions.
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Reddit’s new public content material coverage has six details:
- The positioning requires companions to uphold the privateness of Redditors, together with customers’ selections to delete their very own content material and any content material that Reddit removes for violating its content material coverage.
- Companions can not use content material to determine people or join their private data for any cause, together with advert concentrating on.
- Companions can not use Reddit content material to spam or harass customers.
- Companions can not use content material on Reddit to conduct a background verify, apply facial recognition software program, conduct authorities surveillance — or assist regulation enforcement do any of this stuff.
- Companions can not entry public content material that features grownup media.
- Reddit does not promote the non-public data of customers.
Reddit provides that it’s going to by no means license or distribute any content material that is not public — equivalent to personal messages or Modmail — and can by no means reveal any personal account data equivalent to e mail tackle and shopping historical past.
Reddit nonetheless helps utilizing its information for analysis: It is creating a brand new subreddit — r/reddit4researchers — to assist these initiatives, and partnering with OpenMined to assist enhance analysis. Personal information is, nevertheless, going to remain personal.
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If an organization needs to make use of Reddit information for industrial functions, together with promoting or coaching AI, it should pay. Reddit made this clear by saying, “For those who’re focused on utilizing Reddit information to energy, increase, or improve your services or products for any industrial functions, we require a contract.”
To be clear, Reddit continues to be promoting customers’ information — it is simply ensuring that unscrupulous actors have a harder time accessing that information free of charge and researchers have a better time discovering what they want.