Twitter unveils measures in fight against bots and trolls

NEW DELHI: In a bid to control the menace of trolls and spammers, Twitter has announced four key measures to tighten the noose around automated accounts.

The micro-blogging platform said it will reduce the visibility of suspicious accounts until they validate their phone number. In such a situation, the account will be put in a ‘readonly’ state where it will not be visible on its followers’ list or engagement counts.

The platform also decided to make the sign-up process more secure by urging new account users to confirm either their email address or phone number before signing up. It will also screen existing accounts for automated sign-up. The microblogging site plans to ask account owners to reset password or complete a ‘recaptcha’ request if it sees suspicious account activity like exceptionally high-volume tweeting with the same hashtag.

Twitter is asking users to enable two-factor authentication, regularly review thirdparty applications and avoid using the same password across multiple platforms or websites. “I think it is a first step towards cleansing Twitter from the nonsense of trolls and add value to the platform. It would be interesting to see what political parties will do, especially ahead of 2019 elections, since they are the biggest source of bots and trolls on social media,” said Rajiv Dingra, founder and chief executive, WAT Consult, a digital and social media agency of Dentsu Aegis Network.

FIRM WILL REDUCE THE VISIBILITY OF SUSPICIOUS ACCOUNTS UNTIL THEY VALIDATE THEIR PHONE NUMBER