Twitter has stated that it’s going to stop support for animated PNG files from its platform after a warning from the Epilepsy Foundation claimed that such images could be used to trigger seizures in users sensitive to motion and flashing imagery.
Before the update, Twitter trolls could use a bus attack users by tweeting animated PNGs which could potentially cause seizures in photosensitive people. These trolls could have bypassed Twitter autoplay settings, because of a bug, which allowed them to tweet several animated images in a single tweet using the APNG format.
We want everyone to have a safe experience on Twitter.
APNGs were fun, but they don’t respect autoplay settings, so we’re removing the ability to add them to Tweets. This is for the safety of people with sensitivity to motion and flashing imagery, including those with epilepsy. https://t.co/Suogtrop1u
— Twitter Accessibility (@TwitterA11y) December 23, 2019
Because of this warning, Twitter issued an update Monday stating, “We want everyone to have a safe experience on Twitter.”
It also added that APNGs “don’t respect” the company’s autoplay settings.
Images with motion and flashing imagery can cause seizures in people who are sensitive to such stimuli, including epileptics. However, the platform will not delete existing tweets with APNGs. However, going forward, users will only be able to tweet GIFs and not APNGs. GIFs are generally tuned to play only if a user clicks on them.
Last month, for example, Twitter trolls took over hashtags and mentions used by the Epilepsy Foundation, sending flashing animated PNGs that could induce seizures. The organization has since filed criminal complaints. This isn’t the first time either. In 2016 an attacker tweeted a strobing GIF at Vanity Fair editor Kurt Eichenwald, who has epilepsy, causing him to have a seizure.
The platform has added that APNGs have not been used to target the foundation, but the possibility of them being weaponized does exist.
However, the Epilepsy Foundation has stated that it has been attacked with online trolls tagging it in hashtags and using its Twitter handle to send out APNGs with strobing light effects, which happened during the National Epilepsy Awareness Month 2019.
