Amid Porn Controversy, Vine Changes Age Rating To 17 And Up
February 6, 2013
Vine, the hit six-second video sharing app launched by Twitter, has received another update.
This new update is already the app's fourth update since its release just a couple of weeks ago. And rather like the previous ones, this new update brings only minor improvements.
Vine's latest update adds the ability to share to Twitter or Facebook after posting a video. It also adds the option to block a user or report a user's profile.
Furthermore, it delivers miscellaneous bug fixes, including a solution to an issue that causes a black screen to appear and uploads to fail after creating a video.
But what makes this update stand out, even as it actually brings nothing major as far as features are concerned, is the new age rating it carries.
Previously suggested for users 12 and up, Vine now caries a mature rating of 17 and up, apparently for containing the following:
That's a lot of mature content, to be sure, but it's really the "frequent/intense sexual content or nudity" that prompted the reevaluation of Vine's age rating. Last week, Vine made headlines on account of the profusion of NSFW content uploaded by some of its users. In fact, a decidedly pornographic video was even highlighted in the app as an "Editor's Pick." Apple didn't pull Vine from the App Store, but it did remove the app from the store's Featured section. On the other hand, the popular photo-sharing app 500px was pulled by Apple a couple of weeks ago for "featuring pornographic images and material." It was restored to the App Store a week later, but not without carrying a new age rating of 17 and up, for containing "frequent/intense sexual content or nudity." As though in proactive response to the #porn controversy involving Vine and 500px, Tumblr, yet another popular media sharing app, had begun carrying the same age rating, also for containing "frequent/intense sexual content or nudity." Our own Bryan Wolfe wrote about his take on the issue, saying that Apple should abandon its "selective" censorship policies and let the market decide whether apps like Vine should stay in the App Store. Optimized for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 5.0 or later, Vine is (still) available in the App Store for free. Take note: You must be at least 17 years old to download the app. I'm looking at you, my pubescent nephew. [gallery link="file" order="DESC"]
- Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References to these
- Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
- Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity
- Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour
- Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence
- Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
- Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
- Infrequent/Mild Simulated Gambling
