Twitchy has documented some ugly collections of rape threats from online trolls, so why is Twitter just now announcing that it will (allegedly) start taking such threats seriously? In a post on Twitter’s U.K. blog today, general manager Tony Wang announced an update to Twitter’s rules and the rollout of a new in-tweet report button in Twitter’s mobile apps that looks like this:
We hear you and this is our commitment to our users: http://t.co/D6PlzBSofm #OurCommitment
— Tony Wang (@TonyW) August 3, 2013
The abuse they've received is simply not acceptable. It's not acceptable in the real world, and it's not acceptable on Twitter.
— Tony Wang (@TonyW) August 3, 2013
There is more we can and will be doing to protect our users against abuse. That is our commitment.
— Tony Wang (@TonyW) August 3, 2013
Wang’s post doesn’t specify any particular driver for the company’s latest steps, but it seems to have arisen out of a rash of rape and death threats posted against Caroline Criado-Perez, the self-described “furious feminist” who recently campaigned for at least one woman to appear on the U.K.’s redesigned bank notes.
https://twitter.com/CCriadoPerez/status/363718199029682176
Supported by bestselling author Caitlin Moran, who published a lengthy blog post on the threats against Criado-Perez, women began organizing a one-day Twitter “walkout” deemed #TwitterSilence. “If 52 percent of Twitter’s customers – women – see other women being repeatedly left to deal with abuse on their own, then when a new social networking site appears that has addressed this issue appears, then I suspect they will drain away from Twitter in a way that makes a 24-hour walk-out look like a mere bagatelle,” Morgan wrote.
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https://twitter.com/caitlinmoran/status/363651623614025731
https://twitter.com/caitlinmoran/status/361064750395826177
#TwitterSilence, scheduled for Sunday, has had a tough time finding support from those who’d rather speak up.
As a teacher, I spend too much time asking pupils not to be silent when bullied. So no #twittersilence for me.
— RobertMacmillan (@robfmac) August 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/SandiaElectrica/status/363802883461873664
I'm not doing the #trolliday / #twittersilence because responding to abuse with silence is what the abusers want.
— Seaneen (@ms_molly_vog) August 3, 2013
Definitely not doing #twittersilence. Considering being extra-loud about misogyny all day instead.
— Andrea Phillips (@andrhia) August 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/el_crawford/status/363777390264066048
The UK does not have the First Amendment, but the US does. I truly hope American women do not fall for this ruse. #TwitterSilence
— Echo ? (@e__c__h__o) August 4, 2013
https://twitter.com/LouiseMcLolin/status/363835525259460608
Surely by having #twittersilence trending, you are in fact breaking the silence.
— Tim (@TFitzaudio) August 4, 2013
https://twitter.com/meadowgirl/status/363828490761539585
https://twitter.com/sthrnchivalry/status/363827759132721152
Wang has said that the new rules apply worldwide, which should inspire even more questions about Twitter’s newfound concern over online threats and abuse as users start to discover that big red Report Tweet button.
I'm sure a report-abuse button will work out well, will be fairly enforced Left-versus-Right, and never be abused by the Left. </sarc>
— CLA (@ConservativeLA) August 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/ChrisBarnhart/status/363692528106618880
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