17 Nov Don’t Hate Twitter’s New Rules
Ahh, Twitter. The social network that some love, some hate, and some love to hate. Twitter has long been in the news for the trolling, harassment, and overall abusive behavior that has plagued them for years. Over the last year or so, the hostile social and political climate seems to have reached an apex (please?) on Twitter and the platform is taking steps to make it a more welcoming place to be for everyone.
Last month, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey tweeted about upcoming changes, but with a noticeable lack of detail. However, more information about some of these changes has rolled out over the past couple weeks, and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the year and into early 2018. In the past week, we’ve seen Twitter strip verification from hateful accounts, and suspend their verification signup process for the time being.
Probably the biggest point among many when it comes to Twitter is the amount of abuse that takes place on the channel. Here’s what their new rules have to say:
We prohibit behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user’s voice.
Context matters when evaluating for abusive behavior and determining appropriate enforcement actions. Factors we may take into consideration include, but are not limited to whether:
- the behavior is targeted at an individual or group of people;
- the report has been filed by the target of the abuse or a bystander;
- the behavior is newsworthy and in the legitimate public interest.
Twitter’s new rules go into much more detail about the types of behavior they consider abuse, which include:
- Hateful imagery and display names
- Hateful conduct
- Unwanted sexual advances
- Releasing other users’ private information
- Threats to exploit/hack
Other updates to their rules include details about hacking, spamming, details about sharing graphic content, and more. However, the big story that remains to be seen is what will actually come of all these updates. We’ll find out when Twitter rolls them out on December 18th. See their calendar below for all the details on their updates.
