Twitter isn't taking online harassment lightly — not at all.
On Tuesday, the social media network announced that it's fighting abuse to protect freedom of expression.
To do that, Twitter has updated its rules to expound upon what it deems as abusive behavior and hateful conduct. The company will have a zero tolerance policy toward abusive behavior "intended to harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence another user's voice," as per the company's announcement.
That abusive behavior — including violent threats (direct or indirect), harassment, hateful conduct, multiple account abuse, publishing private information, impersonation and self-harm — can result in everything from offending users having their accounts locked to being forced to verify their accounts via an email address or phone number prompt, and even being asked to delete abusive tweets in order to have their accounts restored. Twitter hopes these actions serve as deterrents against such behavior in the future.
This announcement is part of Twitter's concerted effort to fight online abuse — something that the company has been battling this entire year after having already empowered its users with blocking, muting and reporting tools that are all encompassed into its policy.
As part of its announcement, Twitter says it has also invested in policy enforcement to make sure reports are handled with more care and efficiency.
