Twitter has made some updates to their rules and regulations in order to prohibit the use of violent threats and abusive behavior on the platform by its users. Twitter is taking a hard stand against online violence, as critics are constantly calling for a severe line of action against extremists.
The new policy was brought to light on Tuesday, and although it does not quite alter what is allowed, it will put Twitter in a good position against the criticism received from politicians and the general public who claim that militant extremists are using the service and other social media related ways to recruit more members and promote their evil, violent agendas.
An advocate said the real test lies in the way Twitter would enforce these rules. Rabbi Cooper of the Digital Terrorism and Hate Project at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles said, “The new rules are definitely an improvement, but the question is: Will they be accompanied by a more proactive attitude towards making sure repeat offenders are identified and permanently removed?”
A spokesperson for Twitter declined to make a comment on Tuesday, while the company in a blog post said, “The updated language emphasizes that Twitter will not tolerate behavior intended to harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence another user’s voice. As always, we embrace and encourage diverse opinions and beliefs—but we will continue to take action on accounts that cross the line into abuse.”
The new Twitter policies say that Twitter will suspend and shutdown any account that is used in engaging in “hateful conduct” or whose “primary purpose is inciting harm towards others.” The company has previously made mention of the fact that users cannot promote or aid violence, and in April a ban was made on “promotion of terrorism.” Twitter elaborated more on the new policy by elaborating their definition of “hateful conduct.”
“You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease.” The new policy also exclusively places a ban on “creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses” aiming at “evading suspension of a single account.” Critics have pointed out the fact that Twitter makes things too easy for extremists, who always freely create new accounts after the old ones are shut down or suspended.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) use social media to garner more followers in a massive way.An estimate shows that ISIS and its followers possess as manyas 90,000 Twitter accounts. President Obama, after the San Bernardino shooting that left 14 individuals dead, beckoned on “high tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.”
The social media site has proclaimed that they will update Twitter rules so that no mistake is made towards actions that are considered abusive or hateful.
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