Twitter Suspends 235,000 More Accounts Over Extremism
Twitter Suspends 235,000 More Accounts Over Extremism
By KATIE BENNER AUG. 18, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter suspended 235,000 accounts that
promoted terrorism over the last six months, as part of a continuing effort to
keep people from using the social network for extremist causes, the company
said Thursday.
“The world has witnessed a further wave of deadly,
abhorrent terror attacks across the globe,” Twitter said in a statement. “We
strongly condemn these acts and remain committed to eliminating the promotion
of violence or terrorism on our platform.”
Twitter’s latest action brings the total number of
accounts that the company has suspended to 360,000 since it began cracking down
on terrorism and violent extremism in mid-2015. While Twitter has long
championed free speech on the web and said that it was a “global town square,”
its positioning has drawn bullies, racists and extremist groups to the service
to spread their messages. That has drawn criticism from government agencies and
the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, among others.
While Twitter is trying to find a way to reconcile its
free speech stance with how women and minorities can be targeted on the
service, the company has been clearer about combating terrorism. Daily
suspensions for violating Twitter’s prohibition on terrorism are up over 80
percent since last year, with spikes in suspensions immediately following
terrorist attacks, the company said.
Twitter also said it has expanded its teams that review
reported violations, and it now moves faster to suspend accounts and make it
harder for suspended users to return to the platform. The company has also
expanded the number of groups it works with to counter violent extremism
online.
“We will continue to invest in both technology and other
resources in the future and you can expect us to update our progress regularly,”
Twitter said.
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