Twitter Starts Enforcing New Rules To Reduce Hateful Conduct & Abusive Behavior

(RTTNews) - Twitter Inc. (TWTR) said Monday that it will start enforcing updates to its rules announced last month to reduce hateful and abusive content on Twitter. Its hateful conduct policy and rules against abusive behavior prohibit promoting violence against or directly attacking or threatening other people on the basis of their group characteristics, as well as engaging in abusive behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another person's voice.

The new rules ban violent threats or even wishing for serious physical harm, death, or disease to an individual or group of people.

Accounts that affiliate with organizations that use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes. Groups included in this policy will be those that identify as such or engage in activity — both on and off the platform — that promotes violence. This policy does not apply to military or government entities and we will consider exceptions for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution, Twitter said.

Twitter noted that any account that abuses or threatens others through their profile information, including their username, display name, or profile bio. If an account's profile information includes a violent threat or multiple slurs, epithets, racist or sexist tropes, incites fear, or reduces someone to less than human, it will be permanently suspended.

Twitter noted that hateful imagery will now be considered sensitive media under media policy. It considers hateful imagery to be logos, symbols, or images whose purpose is to promote hostility and malice against others based on their race, religion, disability, or ethnicity/national origin.