Twitter tackles abuse issues amid criticism
Company says it will detail changes in the coming weeks
SAN FRANCISCO— For years, one of the main grievances among Twitter users has been the ability for anonymous trolls to send abusive comments to other people on the service.
But Tuesday, Twitter barred one of the most egregious and consistent offenders of its terms of service, Milo Yiannopoulos, in an attempt to show that it is cracking down on abuse.
The ban against Yiannopoulos, a technology editor at the conservative news site Breitbart and known by his Twitter handle, @Nero, follows a campaign of prolonged abuse against Leslie Jones, a comedian and co-star of the recently released Ghostbusters movie. The film and its stars have come under fire from various parts of the Internet for months, after it was first revealed that the reboot of the 1984 film would feature an allfemale cast.
Jones in particular has borne the brunt of the online abuse. Hundreds of anonymous Twitter commenters hurled racist and sexist remarks at the star’s Twitter account, rallied and directed by Yiannopoulos.
On Monday evening, Jones quit using Twitter with a final message of exasperation after days of near-nonstop abuse. “I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart,” Jones tweeted.
“All this cause I did a movie.”
In a statement, a Twitter spokesman said: “People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter. But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online, and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others.”
Banning one particular user stops short of providing Twitter’s 300-million-plus users with effective tools to combat trolls and abuse on a much larger scale. In the past, the San Francisco-based company has faced criticism for its handling of the socalled GamerGate controversy, as women in the gaming community were increasingly harassed on Twitter — often to the point of receiving death threats.
Twitter said it is investing in improving its tools and enforcement systems, and is in the process of reviewing its hateful conduct policies. The company is expected to detail more in the coming weeks.