New Delhi: Twitter has taken another step forward in protecting its users from online abuse by announcing changes to its threat policy that will make harder for offensive or threatening posts reach the user.
The microblogging site has introduced a filter that will automatically sift out threatening messages from a user's notifications to prevent users from being confronted by such messages. Another change in policy includes ban on indirect threats of violence and temporary suspensions of accounts which flout the rules.
This comes after Twitter CEO Dick Costolo admitted that the site was lacking in security measures when he wrote in an internal memo, "We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform, and we've sucked at it for years".
A report on The Guardian notes that with the new filtering, tweets sent directly to an individual which are from a recently registered account and use language similar to previously flagged messages will not automatically show up in a user's mentions column.
Although these tweets will continue to exist on the service and not deleted, the user being targeted will not see the posts.
This filter is based on an optional 'quality filter' that was rolled out only to the verified profiles and was stricter in sifting out negative content. However, the new filter is automatically on for all users and cannot be turned off.
Twitter's head of product management notes, "The new filter will not affect your ability to see content that you've explicitly sought out, such as tweets from accounts you follow, but instead is designed to help Twitter limit the potential harm of abusive content. This feature does not take into account whether the content posted or followed by a user is controversial or unpopular."
Along with the new filter, the company is tightening its rules against threat posts by banning content with direct, specific threats of violence against others or that promotes violence against others.
Earlier, the site had the option of either banning an account or taking no action. With the new rules, it will temporary suspend accounts which do not comply with the rules. Doshi notes that this new rule will give Twitter more control in situations where multiple users begin targeting one person or a group of people. Getting back on the service will require complete verification through mobile number and removal of the offensive tweet in question.
Yesterday, the company also rolled out a new direct message feature that will allow you to have a private one-on-one conversation with a Twitter user, irrespective of whether that user follows you or not.
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