Twitter to prevent you from retweeting leaders who break its rules
The platform is laying out specific rules referring to its stance, saying that influential politicians aren't above the rules "entirely."
Twitter is providing more information about its position on abusive tweets by politicians ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
In June, the social networking site announced that it would not remove tweets from world leaders who break the platform's rules in a bid to "protect the health of the public conversation."That essentially meant that politicians could get away with posting things that you couldn't.
Now, Twitter is laying out specific guidelines about and clarifying its stance, saying that influential figures aren't above the rules "entirely."
Twitter said on Tuesday it will prevent users from liking, replying and retweeting world leaders that display offensive or bullying behavior in some cases. Instead, users will be able to quote the tweet if they want to "express their opinion," the company said in a blog post.
You're probably not using Spotify right.Here's how to get the most out of your music
Porsche unveils Taycan 4S:A new $103,000 entry-level EV for 2020
"With critical elections and shifting political dynamics around the world, we recognize that we’re operating in an increasingly complex and polarized political culture," Twitter said.
The tech giant said it acknowledges that "these are constantly evolving challenges and we’ll keep our policies and approach under advisement, particularly as we learn more about the relationship between Tweets from world leaders and the potential for offline harm."
Twitter said it will allow offending tweets to remain visible behind a notice, but it hasn't deployed the feature yet.
"We want to make it clear today that the accounts of world leaders are not above our policies entirely," the tech giant said.
Twitter said it will likely quarantine or delete tweets by anyone who promotes terrorism, makes "clear and direct threats of violence" or posts private home addresses. It will also limit the visibility of tweets from public figures who post revenge porn, engage in behaviors relating to child sexual exploitation or promote self-harm.
The latest announcement comes on the heels of calls from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to suspend Trump's account on Twitter. The junior U.S. senator referenced the president's recent tweets that "target, harass, and attempt to out the whistleblower who set forth credible allegations that the President has abused his power by urging a foreign government to investigate a domestic political rival."
Twitter says it "stands for the value of direct access to powerful figures, and maintaining a robust public record provides benefits to accountability."