Twitter has updated its policy banning threats and abuse amid calls for a tougher stance on extremists' use of the platform, including Islamic State jihadist followers.
The announcement came in a
blog post Wednesday by trust and safety director Megan Cristina, who writes the company "will not tolerate" online behavior aimed to "harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence another user's voice."
The updated
"Twitter Rules" also include, for the first time, a section on self-harm.
Also for the first time, policy states users "may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease."
The update doesn't specifically name ISIS, which regularly uses the platform to communicate and spread propaganda, but the company had already placed a formal ban on content that "promotes terrorism.,"
The Hill reports.
What the new policy does explicitly ban is "creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses" — a tactic used to avoid the penalty of account suspension.
Twitter has shut down
thousands of extremist accounts only to have the same user pop up again under a new name.
Lawmakers in Congress proposed legislation earlier this month that would require social media operators, including Twitter and Facebook, to notify federal authorities of any detected "terrorist activity."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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