World leaders are still allowed to break Twitter's rules, but the popular social media site will limit how users can interact with the offending tweet.
Twitter To Limit Interaction With Rule-Breaking Tweet
Twitter said that posts from elected and government officials that go against the website's policies will be placed behind a notice that users have to click through to see. Users will also not be able to like, reply, or retweet the tweet in question to limit its reach, but they can still join the conversation by adding a comment through quote tweet.
"Our goal is to enforce our rules judiciously and impartially," the company said in a tweet. "In doing so, we aim to provide direct insight into our enforcement decision-making, to serve the public conversation, and protect the public's right to hear from their leaders and to hold them to account."
The restriction has not been used on any accounts as of yet, but Twitter has been under increasing scrutiny for refusing to take action against world leaders who break the site's policies.
World Leaders Not Above Twitter's Policies
However, in a blog post published on Tuesday, Oct. 15, Twitter reiterated that world leaders are not completely exempted from following the rules. The site laid out the scenarios where its moderators will be forced to interfere and enforce its rules. This includes the promotion of terrorism, clear and direct threats of violence, posting private information or doxxing, posting intimate photos and videos, and engaging in child sexual exploitation.
Twitter can still decide to leave an offending post up "if there is a clear public interest in doing so."
"The actions we take and policies we develop will set precedent around online speech and we owe it to the people we serve to be deliberate and considered in what we do," the blog post reads.
Earlier this month, Senator Kamala Harris penned a letter addressed to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to urge him to ban U.S. President Donald J. Trump from using the social media platform. Senator Harris said that President Trump has used the platform to "target, harass, and attempt to out the whistleblower" whose allegations resulted to an impeachment inquiry.
Last year, Twitter asserted that it will not ban President Trump despite allegations that his tweets threatened a nuclear war against North Korea.
