Twitter Deleted 125k (Mostly) ISIS Accounts Over Last 6 Months

Twitter has at times been criticized for allegedly allowing extremists' accounts to remain live, though the company regularly squashes those accounts as they surface. In a statement today, Twitter got right at the heart of the matter, saying that since last summer it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts that were promoting or threatening terrorism, and that most of them were related to ISIS.

The company does not take such accounts lightly. Twitter's rules ban violent threats and other types of violent extremism from the service, and accounts of that nature are suspended once they're reported. Twitter says it has increased the number of people it has reviewing reports, reducing how long it takes to suspend the accounts.

As well, Twitter has also used tools typically tasked with finding spam to find extremists' accounts. If necessary, the company also works with law enforcement to help get content removed. The company has vowed to continue doing these things, working to reduce how many extremists accounts are present on the site.

Said the company in a statement:

As an open platform for expression, we have always sought to strike a balance between the enforcement of our own Twitter Rules covering prohibited behaviors, the legitimate needs of law enforcement, and the ability of users to share their views freely – including views that some people may disagree with or find offensive.

SOURCE: Twitter