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===Record keeping requirements for sexually explicit content===
===Record keeping requirements for sexually explicit content===
The Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel has stated that Commons is under no obligation to keep records on the age and identity of models shown in media depicting sexually explicit conduct.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons_talk:Sexual_content&action=historysubmit&diff=39225950&oldid=39225824 Statement by Mike Godwin, 14 May 2010]</ref> However, editors who have produced and wish to upload such media may have record keeping obligations.<ref name=USC2257>The requirements are detailed in [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002257----000-.html 18 USC 2257. Record keeping requirements]</ref> It is good practice to forward age and identity documentation for sexual content, along with statements of consent by the persons depicted, to [[Commons:OTRS|OTRS]] to help avoid any later problems.
The Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel has stated that Commons is under no obligation to keep records on the age and identity of models shown in media depicting sexually explicit conduct.<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons_talk:Sexual_content&action=historysubmit&diff=39225950&oldid=39225824 Statement by Mike Godwin, 14 May 2010]</ref> However, editors who have produced and wish to upload such media may have record keeping obligations and encouraged to submit 18 U.S.C. § 2257 record keeping information in photo description.<ref name=USC2257>The requirements are detailed in [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002257----000-.html 18 USC 2257. Record keeping requirements]</ref> If 18 U.S.C. § 2257 is unavailable, it is good practice to forward age and identity documentation for sexual content, along with statements of consent by the persons depicted, to [[Commons:OTRS|OTRS]] to help avoid any later problems.


==Deletion at the subject's request==
==Deletion at the subject's request==

Revision as of 03:09, 18 May 2010

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For the current official policies & guidelines of Wikimedia Commons, dealing with this subject, see Commons:Scope, Commons:Commons is not censored, and Commons:Nudity

The purpose of the Wikimedia Commons project (see Commons:Scope) is to serve as a media repository for image, sound, and video files which are free for anyone to use (either public domain, or available under an open-source license) and that meet broadly-defined criteria of being educational. These files are available for use by other Wikimedia projects, and also by the online community as a whole. Sexual content is an invaluable part of this repository, aiding for example in the illustration of encyclopedia articles related to sex, anatomy, paraphilia, pornography, art, history, and other relevant topics.

However, the files which are permitted to be hosted at Commons are limited by our community's official policies and guidelines (as well as by law) in a number of ways. For instance, Commons:Licensing addresses the issues of copyright concerns. In order to maintain our focus and reputation as a high-quality repository of freely-licensed files suitable for educational use and commercial reuse, it is being proposed that we need to put some basic restrictions on what kind of sexually explicit files can be hosted at Commons, while attempting to minimize the damage to our educational goals.

This proposed guideline deals with these sexual content concerns. While this is a highly controversial subject, and previous proposals have been rejected by the Commons' community, it is recognised that some files do not comply with our educational objectives. The following restrictions seek to minimise the issues which may arise from sexual content, while attempting to ensure that our educational mission is not compromised.

What do we mean by sexual content?

Because it is difficult to give a precise definition of what is "sexual", the following should be seen as a set of rules of thumb, not as drawing precise lines. Whatever rules we lay down, there will always be borderline cases that require judgment.

By "sexual content" we are generally referring to media depicting actual or simulated sexually explicit conduct. This includes:

  • Media depicting sexual acts including:
  • Media depicting sadistic or masochistic abuse[1]
  • Media that prominently feature genitalia

Primarily, we are concerned with images related to human sexuality; there is a similar but lesser concern with the appropriateness of images of other intraspecies mammalian sexuality and a generally lesser concern with non-mammalian sexuality.

Except for images prominently featuring genitalia or sexual activity, mere partial or total nudity is generally not cosidered sexually explicit conduct.

Content which is not permitted

The following categories of content are not permitted on commons:

  • Content which would be illegal for Commons to host, such as photographs of child pornography.[2] As the servers for Commons are in the United States (Florida), U.S. federal and Florida state law applies.
    • Per our precautionary principle, photographic depictions or film of sexually explicit conduct, or derivative works of these, where there is a legitimate concern that not all participants (in the explicit content) are at least 18 years of age[3] should be speedy deleted. Generally speaking, uploaders of images which feature participants who appear to be under the age of 25 will be required to clarify, and possibly evidence, consent and the ages of all involved.
  • Sexual content uploaded without the consent of the participants should be speedy deleted, when these are living or recently deceased people. Such pictures would usually unreasonably intrude into the subject's private or family life. See Photographs of identifiable people.
  • Content clearly not educational or otherwise in scope. See Commons is not your personal free webhost and Commons is not a place to advertise; these policies apply equally to sexual and non-sexual content. Low-quality pornographic images that do not contribute anything educationally useful to our existing collection of images are generally deleted quickly.
  • Excessive sexual content on user pages, except in cases where this serves to document the user's own Commons contributions. See Wikipedia:User pages for an outline of acceptable user-page guidelines (this page should be transwiki-ed). Also refer to Wikipedia:Etiquette.

Evaluating sexual content

(see Commons:Nudity for the current policy)

Unless there is a valid legal reason, sexual content may generally be speedy deleted only if it is clear that it does not fall into at least one of the following classifications:

  1. The images are either of artistic, literary, or historical merit, or are a part of a larger work that fits those requirements. For example, the shocking conclusion to Oscar Wilde's Salome has a necrophiliac scene with Salome and the head of John the Baptist, but the work is also considered a literary classic, so video or pictures of the work would be perfectly acceptable on Commons.
  2. The material is an artwork, including, but not limited to, paintings, engravings, etchings, lithographs, needlework, and sculpture. Commons does not seek to censor the world's artistic heritage, and consensus has come down strongly in favour of continuing to host erotic and pornographic artworks, as they are an important part of the history of art.[4]
  3. The material is realistically useful for an educational purpose, such as diagrams, illustrations,[5] photographs, high quality images of body parts or noteworthy sexual acts,[6] illustrations of the various styles of erotic art, and medical photographs of diseases. The material can have an educational value even if it was not created for that purpose, such as File:Masturbating hand.jpg illustrating female masturbation.
  4. The material has been in use on the Commons or another Wikimedia project for substantial time and for educational purposes.[7]
  5. The material is supported by existing consensus on a Wikimedia project.
  6. The specific content or the content's creator is notable.

All works that fall within one or more of those categories are generally acceptable on Commons. Borderline cases should go through the full deletion review process.

Any user can nominate particular content on Commons for deletion.[8] It is not necessary to sign up for an account to propose a deletion, but having an account will prevent your IP address from being publicly recorded in association with the discussion. For items where where deletion is not expected to be controversial—copyright violations, material blatantly outside of scope, etc.—a "speedy deletion" can be requested (See Commons:Deletion requests/Speedy deletion). For any other content that you believe is not permitted on Commons, you can nominate it for deletion (See COM:DELREQ). It will then be discussed by the community, which may take two weeks or more to come to consensus.

Categorization

(see Commons:Categorization for a more detailed discussion of appropriate categorization procedures)

Categories are meant to allow users to find material suiting one or another criteria easily. Some of what they are looking for may fall under the broad category of sexual content. However, there is rarely a need to categorize in such a way as to surprise people searching for one type of content with sexual content. For example: this image, a picture of a fully nude porn star spraying herself with whipped cream, was found in Category:People eating, which it is, at best, only a vaguely accurate description.

The problem may be solved by leaving sexual content out of marginal categories, and, if necessary, creating categories such as "Category:Pornographic depictions of X" (which can be put as a subcategory of "Category:X") to separate out very different takes on images. For instance File:Félicien Rops - Sainte-Thérèse.png, an anti-Catholic erotic artwork of Saint Teresa of Ávila, is in Category:Caricatures of Saint Teresa of Ávila instead of the main category Category:Saint Teresa of Ávila, and might imaginably be put into Category:Pornographic depictions of Saint Teresa of Ávila, if necessary.

Descriptions

Descriptions of media files and categories related to sexuality should always be written in an style oriented toward encyclopedic and educational intent. Unless file names and descriptions on Commons are quoting an external source, they should be neutral, academic, impersonal, and without use of slang terminology. New files and categories that are in scope, but do not comply with this requirement, should be renamed on sight, and the descriptions reworded as necessary.

Other considerations

In the United States, in addition to laws regarding child pornography, there are

  • laws regarding obscenity,
  • laws regarding personality rights,
  • laws such as the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act (18 USC 2257); this requires producers of films, videos, digital images (including digitally enhanced images) which were made after November 1, 1990 and depict actual human beings engaged in sexually explicit conduct to document the age and identity of all performers shown.[9]

Uploaders are advised to familiarise themselves with their legal obligations before uploading sexual content.

Record keeping requirements for sexually explicit content

The Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel has stated that Commons is under no obligation to keep records on the age and identity of models shown in media depicting sexually explicit conduct.[10] However, editors who have produced and wish to upload such media may have record keeping obligations and encouraged to submit 18 U.S.C. § 2257 record keeping information in photo description.[9] If 18 U.S.C. § 2257 is unavailable, it is good practice to forward age and identity documentation for sexual content, along with statements of consent by the persons depicted, to OTRS to help avoid any later problems.

Deletion at the subject's request

If Commons hosts a nude image of you, or an image of you engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and the image was uploaded without your consent, and/or you are unhappy with the image's continued presence on Commons, please send an e-mail to permissions-commons@wikimedia.org. Your mail will be treated in confidence and will only be viewed by trusted volunteers who have identified themselves to Wikimedia Foundation by name. For further information see COM:OTRS.

Notes

  1. See 18 USC 2256, which defines "sadistic or masochistic abuse" as "sexually explicit conduct". According to the United States Department of Justice, 28 CFR Part 75: Revised Regulations for Records Relating to Visual Depictions of Sexually Explicit Conduct; Inspection of Records Relating to Depiction of Simulated Sexually Explicit Performance; Final Rule, bondage images are classified as depicting abuse, even if the parties were consensually engaged: "One comment requests that the Department define "sadistic or masochistic abuse" because some people believe that safe and consensual bondage is not abuse, and requests that the Department distinguish between actual and simulated sadistic or masochistic abuse. The Department declines to adopt this comment. That term is not a subject of this rulemaking. Moreover, actual sexually explicit conduct depends on the content of what is being displayed, not on whether the content is subjectively considered to be abusive."
  2. Child pornography is defined in 18 USC 2256 in the sections 2B and 8.
  3. U.S. law defines a minor as being under the age of 18. See 18 USC 2256 section 1.
  4. It can be difficult for non-experts to evaluate art, and, as such, if deletion is being considered for anything artistic, the full deletion process is strongly preferred.
  5. Many illustrations have been found useful in projects, often in spite of lack of technical quality. A variety of illustrations can allow choice where photographs may be undesirable.
  6. These may be labelled, but, as we serve hundreds of languages, we will always need some unlabelled images to make new labeled diagrams.
  7. Exclusive use of a file in userspace does not constitute educational purpose. Legal issues (including copyright) are possible exceptions.
  8. However, nominating content that is obviously within scope may be considered disruption, and repeatedly doing so may lead to warnings and, ultimately, administrative action against the nominator.
  9. a b The requirements are detailed in 18 USC 2257. Record keeping requirements
  10. Statement by Mike Godwin, 14 May 2010

Previous proposals

These previous proposals have been rejected by the Commons' community
  1. A sandbox / demonstration of media filtering (April 2010)
  2. April 2010 (being an evolution of the below)
  3. Proposals from 2008, final revision January 2009
  4. /Deletion log a list of deletions made under the new 'jimbo' instructions
  5. feel free to create a subpage for discussion / development of your ideas :-)