Twitter Cracks Down On Links To Violent And Hateful Third-Party Content

Earlier this year, Twitter announced changes to its content policy that specifically targeted hateful and violent content, something it has expanded this week to include links as well as the content of tweets. This move will reduce the number of problematic content linked on the platform and will put accounts that share such content at risk of suspension if they do not change their habits.

Back in late March, Twitter published a clarified content policy that detailed the type of links that it would be blocking on its platform in an effort to reduce the amount of problematic third-party content shared in tweets. The goal, Twitter had said at the time, was to cut down on the 'harmful content from outside sources' that users were exposed to.

As we continue to address harmful content, we've updated our link policy:

1️⃣ Hateful conduct and violence are now link content categories that we may block
2️⃣ Accounts dedicated to sharing these types of links may be suspended

The full policy: https://t.co/G99F3M779b

— Support (@Support) July 28, 2020

In an update published in a Twitter Support tweet on Tuesday, the company said that it has added two more provisions to its link policy, ones that specifically target linked content that is hateful or violent in nature, as well as the accounts that share this type of content.

The updated policy describes hateful content as any that harasses, threatens, or otherwise promotes violence against people on the basis of various categories, including race, gender, nationality, religion, age, disabilities, diseases, and more. Violent content specific refers to materials that target individuals and groups on the basis of protected things like gender, religion, and sexual orientation.

Twitter also notes that links to manifestos related to violence are also prohibited on its platform, as are links to media content that shows acts that are themselves linked to a violent incident. Twitter says that accounts that are dedicated to sharing these kinds of links face suspension.