Twitter updates reporting process for improved alerts on harmful behavior

Acting on the user feedback which highlighted the reporting process to be frustrating and not enough for users to feel safe on the platform, Twitter is testing an overhauled reporting process.

The new reporting process on Twitter is being tested with a group of users in the US. The new approach is led by a symptom-first concept and instead of asking the user what kind of a violation they would like to report and confuse them with the multiple options, the platform will seek the nature of the violation.

Twitter will ask questions and show descriptive options that would help them identify the violation rather than having the user interpret what kind of a violation it would be. This also helps Twitter find more first-hand information on an issue that may not necessarily break Twitter rules but fall in a grey area where the rules have been bent but not broken, but can still be considered harmful behavior.

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"The vast majority of what people are reporting on fall within a much larger gray spectrum that don't meet the specific criteria of Twitter violations, but they're still reporting what they are experiencing as deeply problematic and highly upsetting", said Renna Al-Yassini, Senior UX Manager, Twitter.

After a Tweet is reported and the user has described the issue, Twiter will display the Terms Of Service violation detected, and an option for users to choose if they think the violation is correct. The user can also indicate if they think the violation is incorrect.

Twitter systems will garner feedback, compile learnings and train themselves to fine tune this process of matching symptoms with policy violations. The reporting process will be rolled out more widely next year, until then the platform aims to learn more about balancing freedom of speech and maintaining safety and security in public conversations.