Twitter has said that it will take “less severe” actions such as limiting the reach of policy-violating tweets instead of banning the accounts that posted them.
The social network did say that account suspension will be reserved for “severe or ongoing” violations of its policies.
Severe violations include but are not limited to: engaging in illegal content or activity, inciting or threatening violence or harm, privacy violations, platform manipulation or spam, and engaging in targeted harassment of our users.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 28, 2023
Twitter also said that it had been proactively reinstating previously suspended accounts — such as former US President Donald Trump’s. From 1 February, the company also said that anyone would be able to appeal an account suspension and re-evaluated under its new criteria for reinstatement.
Accounts that had engaged in illegal activity, threats of harm or violence, large-scale spam, and platform manipulation, or when there was no recent appeal to have the account reinstated, had not been reinstated. It’s not sure how Trump does not fall into at least one of these categories following the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.
Forgive us if we’re sounding like a stuck record but it seems as though the move will not play well with previously departed or wavering advertisers on Twitter. One advertising exec told B&T that advertisers were reluctant to re-join the platform given Musk’s propensity for an unprompted, game-changing tweet.
The introduction of Search Keywords Ads, which allow a more granular targeting of users, will also do precious little to make advertisers think that Twitter is a safe place for their brands.
