Twitter to Enhance User Control with New Anti-Abuse Tools

Twitter Considers New Features to Combat Online Abuse

Twitter is exploring the implementation of new functionalities designed to assist users experiencing abusive situations stemming from unwanted attention and viral pile-ons. These scenarios often arise when a tweet unexpectedly gains widespread attention, resulting in a surge of negative responses.

Addressing Persistent Racist Abuse

Racist abuse continues to be a significant concern on the Twitter platform. The social media company is currently evaluating enhancements to the @mention feature, aiming to provide users with greater control over unwanted attention, as explained by privacy engineer Dominic Camozzi.

The Problem with Notifications

Twitter’s notification system alerts users when they are directly tagged in a tweet. While beneficial for positive or interesting interactions, this system can inadvertently serve as a conduit for abusive content, amplifying cyberbullying.

Early Concepts and User Feedback

These latest anti-abuse proposals are designated as “early concepts,” and Twitter is actively soliciting user feedback to inform potential changes. The company is keen to understand how these features might best address the issue.

Potential Feature: ‘Unmention’ Functionality

One proposed feature would allow users to ‘unmention’ themselves from tweets – effectively removing their name and association from the post. This would prevent ongoing conversations around the tweet from appearing in their mentions feed.

Enhanced Unmention Action for Unfollowed Accounts

Twitter is also considering a more robust ‘unmention’ action for instances where an account the user doesn't follow tags them. This would trigger a special notification, highlighting potentially unwanted situations.

Preventing Future Mentions

If a user chooses to unmention themselves, Twitter envisions preventing the original tweet-composer from tagging them again in the future. This could prove to be a powerful deterrent against abusive @mentions from strangers.

Restricting Mentions from Specific Accounts

Another potential setting would allow users to completely restrict certain accounts from mentioning them. This feature could have been particularly useful during the time when former president Trump was active on the platform.

‘Total Peace and Quiet’ Mode

Twitter is also exploring a switch that would temporarily disable all @-mentions for a user, offering options for one, three, or seven-day periods – essentially a ‘total peace and quiet’ mode.

A Multi-Layered Approach

The goal is to implement changes that work in concert to help users, preventing escalation by providing notifications about high mention volumes and enabling easy access to settings for self-protection, such as blocking all mentions for a defined period.

Addressing Coordinated Attacks

The prevalence of coordinated troll armies launching targeted attacks against Twitter users necessitates effective tools for self-defense. Blocking individual accounts or muting tweets becomes impractical when facing hundreds or even thousands of abusive interactions.

Early Stage Development

The features remain under development, and Twitter has confirmed they are “a design mock” still in the “early stages of design and research.” However, the company welcomes community feedback at this stage.

Potential Complications and Considerations

Twitter must consider potential complications, such as the impact on automatically scheduled tweets if a user blocks all mentions. Would the tweet still be published without the handle, potentially losing context?

Expanding User Protection Tools

Despite these details, it’s a positive step that Twitter is exploring ways to enhance the tools available to users for protecting themselves from abuse, going beyond existing features like block, mute, and report tweet.

A History of Abuse and Criticism

Coordinated trolling attacks have long been a problematic aspect of Twitter, and the company has faced frequent criticism for insufficient action against harassment and abuse.

Acknowledging Past Failures

The ongoing search for improved tools to prevent hate pile-ons implicitly acknowledges Twitter’s past failures to effectively remove abusers from its platform, despite repeated calls for action.

High-Profile User Departures

A Google search reveals numerous instances of prominent Twitter users leaving the platform due to overwhelming abuse, including several footballers targeted with racist tweets. Examples date back to 2013, highlighting the long-standing nature of the problem.

Chrissy Teigen’s Exit

Model Chrissy Teigen recently left Twitter after ten years, citing feeling “deeply bruised” and stating the platform “no longer serves me positively.”

Soccer Players’ Campaign Against Racism

Several UK soccer players have been campaigning against racism on social media, even organizing a boycott to pressure companies like Twitter to address racist abuse.

The Problem Extends Beyond Public Figures

While public figures may experience higher levels of abuse, the issue isn’t limited to them. Racist abuse remains a widespread problem on Twitter, and celebrity departures represent only a fraction of the total impact.

Impact on Twitter’s Business

Losing highly engaged users due to abuse is detrimental to Twitter’s business, and the company recognizes this.

Past Efforts to Improve ‘Conversational Health’

As early as 2018, Twitter expressed a commitment to improving “conversational health” and has since expanded its policies and enforcement regarding hateful and abusive content.

Strategic Friction and Policy Changes

The company has introduced measures to encourage more thoughtful engagement, such as prompting users to read an article before retweeting. It has also banned some high-profile abusers, including former president Trump.

Delayed Enforcement of Policies

However, Twitter has often been criticized for delaying enforcement of its policies, allowing abusers to continue their behavior until the last possible moment.

A Toxic Legacy of Mismanagement

By failing to address abusive behavior effectively for so long, Twitter has created a toxic environment and continues to attract negative attention from potential ambassadors for the service.