Twitter is making a major change to its account suspension policy effective February 1st.
According to an announcement from the Twitter Safety team, users will be able to appeal account suspensions for ratings based on new criteria for reinstatement.
As indicated earlier, we have proactively worked to reinstate previously suspended accounts. Starting February 1st, anyone can appeal an account suspension and have it assessed against our new criteria for reinstatement. https://t.co/2MR8yonMlM
TwitterSafety January 28, 2023
Twitter notes that it takes a more nuanced approach to policy violations, opting for less severe measures like limiting the reach of individual tweets rather than removing accounts.
Going forward, Twitter will only suspend accounts for severe or ongoing violations of its policies.
Examples of severe violations include, but are not limited to, engaging in illegal content or activity, incitement or threats of violence or harm, breaches of privacy, platform manipulation or spam, and targeted harassment of users.
Twitter proactively reinstates previously suspended accounts and has made clear that it will not reinstate accounts that engage in illegal activity, threats of harm or violence, widespread spam, and platform manipulation.
The company’s new account suspension approach aims to strike a balance between promoting healthy discussions online while protecting users from harm.
Twitter hopes these changes will provide a fairer and more transparent way for users to reinstate their accounts, which it hasn’t offered before.
Users are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the new standards and appeal their suspension if they feel their account has been suspended unfairly.
In rare cases, Twitter may allow controversial content or behavior that may violate its policies to remain on the site because it believes the public is interested in seeing both sides of the issue.
A cross-functional team evaluates each circumstance before making a decision.
The potential impact on the general audience, the source of the content, and the availability of alternative coverage of an event are some of the elements Twitter considers when making content decisions.
The philosophy of the Twitter app is well documented in this regard Help page.
Featured image: KateV28/Shutterstock
