Twitter taking 10x more measures to reinforce platform safety

Twitter reinforces its commitment to safety on the platform by unveiling new data that shares its progress in a transparent manner.

Twitter has taken action on 10 times the number of abusive accounts every day compared to the same time last year.

According to the data, accounts that demonstrate abusive behavior and are put into a period of limited functionality generate 25% fewer abuse reports. Approximately 65% of these accounts are in this state just once.

In addition, data shows that Twitter’s Quality Filter has led to fewer unwanted interactions: blocks after @mentions from people a user does not follow is down by 40%.

Twitter’s commitment to move fastest to make the platform safer started in January. The company conducted research to understand the safety issues at a deeper level, and in relation, introduced a range of product updates to improve the experience on the platform. The microblogging platform has also organized its first Trust and Safety Council to gather feedback and guidance from the global community. While Twitter recognizes that there is still much work to be done, feedback has been positive and now the platform has significant data on the progress made in the past few months.

Increasing Action on Abusive Accounts

Leveraging its technology, the company is now taking action on 10x the number of abusive accounts every day compared to the same time last year. The platform limits account functionality or place suspensions on thousands more abusive accounts each day.

Twitter’s new systems will remove repeat offenders who create new accounts even after being suspended for violations. Twitter has removed twice the number of such accounts in the past 4 months. Going beyond technology, Twitter’s teams continue to review content on the platform daily and look for ways to improve how the company enforces policies.

Read: Twitter installs new abusive content managing tools

Driving Change in Behavior

Twitter recognizes that communication about problematic Tweets, especially to the people who send them, is key. Hence, accounts that demonstrate abusive behavior are now limited for a time and told why. The data shows accounts that are placed by Twitter into this period of limited functionality generate 25% fewer abuse reports, and approximately 65% of these accounts are in this state only once.

Providing Personalized Controls

Twitter provides consistent harassment definitions and policies that apply to everyone. People may define abuse differently, hence Twitter has introduced new ways for people to customize their experience, including notification filters and muting keywords, so every person has control of what they see and experience on Twitter. Twitter’s Quality Filter has led to fewer unwanted interactions: blocks after @mentions from people that they does not follow for example, is down by 40%.

What Happens Next

Twitter is committed to online safety and making Twitter a safe place for free expression. Twitter will continue to collaborate with The Trust and Safety Council, industry experts and academics to solicit ongoing feedback.