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RULES around online sexual harassment on Twitter are being tightened. Stronger sanctions await those who violate the terms, including bans for posting non-consensual nudity, such as “upskirt imagery, creep shots and hidden camera content”.
The social media company will also allow users who spot abuse to report it – a step forward from previously only allowing the target of abuse to do so. In addition, Twitter plans to include hate symbols as part of its definition of “sensitive media”, which it provides warnings about.
Since 2016, Twitter has shifted from allowing almost complete free speech to setting up a council that tries to curtail the worst offenders. But many have been unhappy with the results as Twitter is still populated by a small but unsavoury blend of neo-Nazis, Islamic State recruiters and propaganda-spreading bots.
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Twitter’s policies were also recently criticised when the firm suspended actor Rose McGowan’s account. McGowan was speaking out – albeit profanely – about producer Harvey Weinstein, who is facing numerous allegations of harassment and sexual assault over the past three decades, which he denies.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Twitter war on hate”
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