Twitter vs Trolls
Twitter and protecting Users
In efforts to tackle abuse, Twitter is taking new measures to secure its users. This is interesting and pertinent for any social networking site. The firm has admitted that it has not done enough to protect its users. Be Seated must make sure that it does not ignore the necessity of protecting users from abuse and learn from the mistakes of other social networking sites. The report explains that;
A study of 1,000 UK-based 13-to-17-year-olds by broadband provider Europasat indicated that nearly half of those surveyed had been sent abusive messages over the internet. (BBC)
The BBC article on the topic describes that Twitter is now making its criteria for abuse vaguer in order to be able to intervene more often. It will also ask those accused of abuse to verify their phone numbers and may delete tweets before lifting temporary bans.
These changes have been welcomed and in our discussions of Be Seated we will make sure that we are considering the needs of users and to limit ways that abuse can spread on the site. Cyber-abuse and misuse on SNS is a hot issue and something any developing SNS cannot ignore.
Reference
BBC News, (2015). Twitter cyberbullies targeted with new anti-abuse tools – BBC News. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32392811 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].
