Twitter recently released the steps it plans to take to implement fixes and changes to long-standing abuse and harassment issues that have plagued the social network for years. The timeline outlines about two dozen changes that span from October 27 to January 10. They focus on a wide range of topics, from non-consensual nudity to hateful imagery and violent slurs.
Some of the measures include banning content that condones violence, rather than just actual threats of violence. The company will also suspend accounts of organizations that promote violence. Twitter says that on October 27, its first change will include expanding the definition of “non-consensual nudity” to include hidden camera footage. It will also immediately suspend accounts that post such material, the company said in its initial announcement, which was reported by Wired.
Twitter Twitter later revealed that this was because McGowan had violated a strict rule around posting personal contact information. One of the tweets included a phone number. The company says it plans to respond to reports more quickly, provide more reasoning behind the rule’s implementation, and provide more detailed information about account suspensions in the appeals process.
Twitter has come under severe criticism recently for its continued technical, structural, and cultural failures in addressing harassment and abuse on its platform.
The social media platform has failed to address these issues, seemingly taking action only when they were pushed. CEO Jack Dorsey said in a series of tweets on Oct. 13. “We prioritized these issues in 2016. We updated our policies and increased the size of our groups. It wasn’t enough,” he wrote. “We’ve decided to take a more aggressive stance on our rules and how we enforce them. New rules around: unwanted sexual harassment, non-consensual nudity, hate symbols, violent groups, and tweets that glorify violence.”
