Twitter's Vine updates App Store age rating to 17+ after content controversy

Twitter has updated its Vine video sharing application to an App Store age rating of 17+ following reports that users are uploading sexually explicit clips.

Vine now requires users to confirm they are 17 or older.

Twitter introduced Vine late last month. The app, originally rated 12+, enables Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS device owners to film and share videos running no longer than six seconds; users can film clips in a single take or pause the recording to string together montages of brief shots. With the release of Vine version 1.0.5, a pop-up screen alerts users that the app contains age-restricted material and requires them to confirm they are aged 17 or older. The update also adds tools to report or block profiles, as well as the ability to share to Twitter or Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) after posting a clip.

Almost immediately after Vine launched, the app generated controversy when searches for #porn, #sex, and other similar hashtags yielded videos featuring male exhibitionism and other mature activity. Compounding matters, a pornographic video briefly made Vine's Editor's Picks list--the clip was quickly removed and Twitter issued a brief apology. Apple's guidelines for third-party iOS apps distributed through the App Store strictly prohibit illicit content, and as a result of the controversy, Apple stripped Vine of its App Store Editors' Choice designation, removing the app from its spotlight position atop the digital storefront's homepage.

The move to a 17+ rating should smooth Vine's relationship with App Store censors. Last week, Apple approved an overhauled version of another photo-sharing application, 500px, days after ousting the service over similar adult content concerns. The retooled 500px also carries a 17+ tag, the App Store's highest age rating, as well as user reporting tools and improved search filters. Tumblr has also updated its iOS app to 17+.

For more:
- read this Verge article

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