Twitter to Flag Users for Speech Offending Religious Groups--Update
09 Julio 2019 - 04:08PM
Noticias Dow Jones
By Sarah E. Needleman
Twitter Inc. said it has updated its policy on hateful conduct
to better protect religious groups, the latest effort by the
company to police speech and curb abuse on its platform despite the
potential risk of offending some users.
Under the modified terms, tweets with language that "dehumanizes
on the basis of religion" will be removed when reported by users or
identified by the company itself, the social-media giant said
Tuesday. The change was made, in part, in response to a user survey
conducted last year that drew more than 8,000 comments, Twitter
said.
The policy update covers new tweets as well as those previously
posted on the platform. When a tweet is reported and deemed in
violation of the policy, a user won't be able to access his or her
account until the tweet is deleted, Twitter said.
With the update on hateful conduct, Twitter said it is expanding
its focus to protect entire religious groups and not just
individuals. Twitter is also evaluating how it could apply the
policy regarding offensive language to better protect other groups,
including people of color and members of the LGBT community.
The move comes as Twitter and other social-media companies face
mounting calls by users and activists to stiffen their treatment of
content on their platforms that is deemed offensive and bullying.
Twitter in particular has been criticized for ignoring anti-Semitic
tweets from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and other
users.
But Twitter could face more backlash from free-speech advocates
and others who have criticized social-media companies for going too
far in adjudicating user behavior, for example, in suppressing
politically conservative voices. In an interview last month on Fox
Business Network, Mr. Trump said, without providing evidence, that
Twitter is making it harder for users to follow him on the
platform.
A Canadian writer sued Twitter in February, claiming she was
unfairly banned because her criticism of transgender rights didn't
line up with the company's politics. The case, which was filed in
state Superior Court in San Francisco, was dismissed last
month.
Twitter last month revealed plans to begin flagging tweets by
government officials and political figures who violate its rules
about content. Such tweets are now identified as noncompliant and
users need to click through a prompt to view them.
On Monday Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram said it was rolling out
new features to combat unacceptable behavior, including a tool that
relies on artificial intelligence to determine whether language in
a post could be deemed offensive and that can prompt the poster to
reconsider. Facebook in May took one of its biggest shots yet at
online provocateurs, banning an array of personalities whose views
it considered too inflammatory including Mr. Farrakhan and
talk-show host Alex Jones.
Last month Reddit Inc. quarantined a pro-Trump user group on its
platform after it said members violated its policies by threatening
violence against law-enforcement officers and public officials.
Social-media companies have also been grappling with increased
scrutiny in Washington of their operations and the influence they
wield. The Justice Department is currently preparing an antitrust
probe into Alphabet Inc.'s Google, while Facebook awaits a possible
Federal Trade Commission fine of up to $5 billion over privacy
violations.
The White House is planning to hold a Social Media Summit on
Thursday to "bring together digital leaders for a robust
conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today's online
environment." A spokeswoman for Twitter declined to comment on
whether the company will participate in it.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 09, 2019 16:53 ET (20:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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