Twitter is introducing a new way for suspended accounts to appeal

Twitter has announced that, starting February 1, users who have had their accounts temporarily suspended can appeal an account suspension and be evaluated under its new criteria for reinstatement.

This follows a statement by the company’s @TwitterSafety account that, “Going forward, we will take less severe actions, such as limiting the reach of policy-violating Tweets or asking you to remove Tweets before you can continue using your account. Account suspension will be reserved for severe or ongoing, repeat violations of our policies.”

Elon Musk had also promised “amnesty” in November last year, for banned and suspended accounts. Though he has had to reinstate a large number of controversial users, such as comedian Kathy Griffin, white nationalists, and far-right activists like Alex Jones and Steve Bannon. Donald Trump.

For policy violations, Twitter says it is taking a “more nuanced approach,” preferring to restrict the reach of specific tweets rather than suspend entire accounts. Account suspensions for policy violations will now only occur in extreme cases or when users repeatedly break the rules.

This type of violation includes, but is not limited to, the spread of illegal content or activity, the incitement or threat of violence or harm, the invasion of privacy, the manipulation or spamming of the platform, and the intentional harassment of other users.

Twitter has made it clear that it will not bring back accounts that were suspended for doing illegal things, making threats of harm or violence, spamming a lot, or trying to change the way the platform works.

With its new policy for suspending accounts, the company hopes to strike a better balance between fostering productive online discourse and keeping its users safe.

These updates are an attempt by Twitter to provide a more equitable and clear process for users to regain access to their accounts after suspension. If a user believes their account was suspended unjustly, they should review the new criteria and file an appeal.

Twitter may, on rare occasions, allow content or behaviour that would normally violate its policies to remain on the site if it determines that users would benefit from seeing both sides of a contentious issue.

Prior to reaching a conclusion, a cross-functional team will conduct a situation analysis and consider all available information.

Twitter takes into account factors like the content’s potential impact on the public, the credibility of the content’s creator, and the accessibility of competing news sources when making editorial decisions.

This support page explains Twitter’s philosophy on enforcing its rules.