Twitter took a note out of Dua Lipa’s book this month, presenting us all with a list of new rules. The catch? The company didn’t count them — so just looking at the new list of rules won’t provide any hints to what actually changed.
Fear not: Having pored over the old rules (found here) and the new ones (here), these are the most noticeable changes to The Twitter Rules.
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Actions for rule breakers
The company now starts its rules by clarifying how it intends to deal with those who violate them.
Twitter’s new rules contain changes around the use of graphic content, wishing violence or harm to others, unwanted sexual advances and other areas
This includes actions such as: forcing you to delete prohibited content, temporarily locking your account (putting you in “Twitter jail”), asking you to verify account ownership, or permanent suspension. It also adds that it will suspend any accounts created in an attempt to avoid suspension.
Trademark violations
Whereas Twitter said before that it would “reclaim” usernames that other entities legally own, it now keeps it vague, saying that the company will “suspend accounts or take other appropriate action”.
Graphic content
In the previous rules anything deemed to be graphic content was limited to porn and “violent media”. Twitter has now opted for a broader definition of graphic content.
We consider graphic violence to be any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures. We consider adult content to be any media that is pornographic and/or may be intended to cause sexual arousal.
It seems that Twitter is also removing the onus from the company when it comes to to respecting the dead.
The company has now specified that it will remove content “out of respect for the deceased and their families if we receive a request from their families”. In the previous version, Twitter made it seem as if the company was making that call.
Trends
In the new rules, Twitter has added that it may prevent “certain content” from trending. It says this refers to any content that violates the rules (like profanity or targeted hate), or “may attempt to manipulate trends”.
No longer “speaking truth to power”
In one of the more controversial changes, Twitter has changed its language around abusive behaviour.
“We believe in freedom of expression and in speaking truth to power,” the previous rules read. Now? “We believe in freedom of expression and open dialogue.”
While this may seem like a matter of legal jargon, the change comes at a time when actress Rose McGowan’s account was suspended right when she was taking on accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein and those she deemed complicit in supporting his behaviour.
While McGowan had, in fact, broken Twitter’s rules by posting a private number, Twitter was criticised for acting with an urgency inconsistent with lesser-known reports of the same nature.
Added context, and justifying Trump’s stay
The company has stipulated that it will consider “context” when evaluating abuse and determining enforcement actions.
Twitter will ask three questions: Is the behaviour targeting an individual or a group? Has the report been filed by the target of abuse or a bystander? Is this behaviour newsworthy or in the “legitimate public interest”?
That last question is key, as it has been the company’s response to criticisms that US President Donald Trump has been harassing users and threatening war on the platform.
Wishing violence or harm on others
It is now a violation to wish for the death of an individual or group.
The previous rules merely said that users “may not make threats of violence or promote violence”. Now it says they may not “make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people”.
Stance on “child sexual exploitation”
A new rule about promoting “child sexual exploitation” has been added. Any account violating this rule will be suspended and the content reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
It is unclear whether the NCMEC will refer non-US cases to its international counterpart, which works with law enforcement in over 100 countries.
Unwanted sexual advances
Twitter has now prohibited the sending of “unwanted sexual content”, or otherwise “objectifying [another user] in a sexually explicit manner”.
This seems a particularly difficult rule to monitor, especially considering that the likes of “stan Twitter” sees many users replying to celebrities with inappropriate sexual come-ons.
Hateful conduct
Hateful conduct now includes harassment, but it also only prohibits the promotion of violence against those with a “serious disease”, as opposed to merely a “disease” previously.
Private information
It is now a violation to not only post “intimate media” of others without consent, but also to share said content through the likes of retweets or DMs.
Twitter has also prohibited users from threatening to doxx (releasing a user’s private information) another user or hack their account.
Impersonation
The previous rules barred impersonating individuals, but the new ones include groups or organisations — like the viral McDonalds Hong Kong account that tried to trick people into thinking it was real.
Parodying and commentary are still allowed, though not when the intent is to engage in spam or abuse.
Added security
Twitter has added an entirely new section on security that protects the site’s “non-public areas”. It prohibits tampering with its systems, probing or scanning for vulnerabilities, searching Twitter by any means other than its search feature, and basically anything else that creates an “undue burden on Twitter”.
Defining spam
Twitter has now added a proper definition of spam, replacing its previous refusal to define it because it “will evolve as [Twitter] responds to new tricks and tactics by spammers”.
Spam is generally defined on Twitter as bulk or aggressive activity that attempts to manipulate or disrupt Twitter or the experience of users on Twitter to drive traffic or attention to unrelated accounts, products, services, or initiatives.
This definition comes at a time when the company has been scrutinised for the antagonistic “alt-right” accounts that have proven to be Russian bots.
Other spam rules
Also added to spam rules is the prohibition of adding others to lists not only in a bulk manner, but an “aggressive” one too — though exactly what that means is unclear.
Perhaps more interesting is Twitter’s step away from creating “false or misleading content” and towards posting “misleading, deceptive, or malicious links”. This change seems to profess that while people can tweet intentionally misleading content, they can’t link to misleading sites.
Limiting a violating account’s reach
When an account is under investigation, Twitter says it may be muted in “various parts of Twitter”. Previously, this rule was limited to search.
Feature image: Memeburn
