As much as we fixate on the importance of internal factors, we cannot overlook what the external ones bring to the table. You see, for a human to live their life rather effectively, they need the external landscape to shape in up a certain manner. However, if we look through our history for a second, we’ll see how getting there isn’t so easy. This is largely because of our lives’ unpredictable nature. Now, when you talk about unpredictability under the given context, you must segregate the discussion into two different categories. One will include more natural constituents of the said volatility, whereas the other will talk to a man-made brand of it. We certainly can’t do anything to eliminate the former, but the latter will receive a stringent response in the form of dedicated regulatory bodies. Having watchful regulators throughout the spectrum instantly made us organized like never before. With everyone expected to be accountable regarding their actions, unscrupulous activities ended up hitting a sensational low. Unfortunately, it was all pretty short-lived. After creations like technology took over, they freed up the space for rule breakers to fall back into their ways. This will construct a reality where we’ll have to take some truly groundbreaking measures, and Snapchat’s latest decision proves that big time.
Snapchat has officially decided to restrict the way app building is carried out on its Snap kit platform. The decision comes after a string of suicides and lawsuits, which all revolved around inadequate protection for the young users. As online bullying was repeatedly mentioned in these cases, the social media has banned the development of any anonymous messaging apps, therefore making it easier to locate the bully moving forward. Apart from it, Snapchat has introduced a new mandate for the friend-finding apps that keeps them limited to 18-year old and above users. These changes, of course, don’t include the other subtle measures i.e. a thorough pre-release demo process and a subsequent review of the apps every six months. Notably enough, the modified policy is effective immediately in regards to new projects; while on the other hand, existing projects will be allowed a 30 days-timeframe to achieve compliance.
“As a platform that works with a wide range of developers, we want to foster an ecosystem that helps apps protect user safety, privacy and well-being while unlocking product innovation for developers and helping them grow their businesses,” said a Snap spokesperson. “We believe we can do both, and will continue to regularly evaluate our policies, monitor app compliance, and work with developers to better protect the well-being of our community.”
Another intriguing wrinkle in Snapchat’s latest decision is the fact that it’s only limited to third-party apps. With no thought to the platform’s own child safety issues, it might prove to be a nonfactor in the long-run. However, as online bullying incidents continue to grow at a breakneck pace, the move still feels like a step in the right direction.
