7 ms·

I really can't see teenagers setting up a PayPal account in order to receive money for nudes. I can, however, see someone asking for cash through the very same

by enneff 12y ago

I really can't see teenagers setting up a PayPal account in order to receive money for nudes. I can, however, see someone asking for cash through the very same app that they're using to send nude pictures. I agree with the GP, this is gonna get interesting.

crazypyro 12y ago
Setting up a PayPal account and setting up an age-locked account that requires an associated bank account (in the form of a debit card) appears to be more effort on the SnapChat payments side, at least to me. The only reason for this fear (which really should be associated with any social media micro-payments system) being touted here is because of the reputation of SnapChat as an app for sending nude pictures. The same exact concerns exist in other places and have been dealt with by a large number of companies at this point.
- otterley 12y ago
  > The same exact concerns exist in other places and have been dealt with by a large number of companies at this point Can you identify a similar set of circumstances where this has been successful for more than a brief period?
  - crazypyro 12y ago
    My point was any company that deals with a large amount of user submitted media will eventually end up having to have an abuse team that monitors user submissions for illegal activity. I don't see how the Snapchat's situation is unique from the problem of identifying illegal material, other than the fact that there is now a monetary way of receiving payment (which has existed and still exists today). In fact, Snapchat could even attempt to claim less liability if the material is never stored on their servers, compared to a file sharing or image hosting site that actually contains the illegal material. In this sense, they would only be liable if they knowingly allowed this trade to take place on their network, similar to an ISP, in my view.
dmix 12y ago
...Not that anything is wrong with exchanging nudes for money. But I do expect some scrutiny due to the oh-so-popular puritanism Americans hold in public life towards sex (both democrats and republicans) yet largely ignore in private.
- enneff 12y ago
  Snapchat has come under fire because a significant portion of those nudes are technically child porn.
  - crazypyro 12y ago
    Yeah, except there is no proof that there is any exchange of goods taking place in the overwhelming majority of these. Do you think teenage girls and boys are really going to start selling their nudes? Just on a shallow examination of this possibility, it seems exceedingly unlikely to ever be a problem on a scale larger than a handful of cases. The social aspects of trying to sell "nude" pictures of yourself would be utterly taboo. The only market would be for people that you don't know, yet then the risk increases dramatically. There are already 100s of sites where they can do exactly this (pretending to be 18), yet its not happening, at least on the scale that the fear represents.
    - otterley 12y ago
      > it seems exceedingly unlikely to ever be a problem on a scale larger than a handful of cases. All it takes is a "handful" (or less) when child porn is the subject. I wouldn't go anywhere near money transactions given the risks.
    - xorcist 12y ago
      This happens already today not only with Snapchat, as well as on the multitude of cam services out there. (The taboo you mention makes the problem worse, as it can quickly escalate to blackmail.) Is it likely to get worse with integrated payments? I would guess yes.
    - enneff 12y ago

by enneff 12y ago

crazypyro 12y ago

Setting up a PayPal account and setting up an age-locked account that requires an associated bank account (in the form of a debit card) appears to be more effort on the SnapChat payments side, at least to me. The only reason for this fear (which really should be associated with any social media micro-payments system) being touted here is because of the reputation of SnapChat as an app for sending nude pictures. The same exact concerns exist in other places and have been dealt with by a large number of companies at this point.

otterley 12y ago
> The same exact concerns exist in other places and have been dealt with by a large number of companies at this point Can you identify a similar set of circumstances where this has been successful for more than a brief period?
- crazypyro 12y ago
  My point was any company that deals with a large amount of user submitted media will eventually end up having to have an abuse team that monitors user submissions for illegal activity. I don't see how the Snapchat's situation is unique from the problem of identifying illegal material, other than the fact that there is now a monetary way of receiving payment (which has existed and still exists today). In fact, Snapchat could even attempt to claim less liability if the material is never stored on their servers, compared to a file sharing or image hosting site that actually contains the illegal material. In this sense, they would only be liable if they knowingly allowed this trade to take place on their network, similar to an ISP, in my view.

dmix 12y ago

...Not that anything is wrong with exchanging nudes for money. But I do expect some scrutiny due to the oh-so-popular puritanism Americans hold in public life towards sex (both democrats and republicans) yet largely ignore in private.

enneff 12y ago
Snapchat has come under fire because a significant portion of those nudes are technically child porn.
- crazypyro 12y ago
  Yeah, except there is no proof that there is any exchange of goods taking place in the overwhelming majority of these. Do you think teenage girls and boys are really going to start selling their nudes? Just on a shallow examination of this possibility, it seems exceedingly unlikely to ever be a problem on a scale larger than a handful of cases. The social aspects of trying to sell "nude" pictures of yourself would be utterly taboo. The only market would be for people that you don't know, yet then the risk increases dramatically. There are already 100s of sites where they can do exactly this (pretending to be 18), yet its not happening, at least on the scale that the fear represents.
  - otterley 12y ago
    > it seems exceedingly unlikely to ever be a problem on a scale larger than a handful of cases. All it takes is a "handful" (or less) when child porn is the subject. I wouldn't go anywhere near money transactions given the risks.
  - xorcist 12y ago
    This happens already today not only with Snapchat, as well as on the multitude of cam services out there. (The taboo you mention makes the problem worse, as it can quickly escalate to blackmail.) Is it likely to get worse with integrated payments? I would guess yes.
  - enneff 12y ago