Twitter updates policy, bans homophobia and transphobia
Slurring hate in 140 characters or less is easy for a lot of small minded people. I mean, we’ve seen it time and time again with every gay or trans character on TV, in the news, or people just ranting about someone they’ve seen on the street.
Not convinced? Let’s help you out a bit …
Just seen a commercial for a TV series coming out about a gay pastor. It made me sick to my stomach to hear. What is this world coming to?
— bailey hollingsworth (@baileymichell17) July 18, 2015
If my son turn out to be gay I’m blaming it on his mother, I know my cum don’t got no gay in it
— andreas (@andreas_racz) May 8, 2015
If my son turn out gay… Instant suicide idgaf
— KING (@DEVONTHESAV) April 2, 2015
If you have sex with a girl and later find out that it was a tranny, is that rape?
— Rich Love (@tru_travisiv) July 30, 2014
We’ll I’m drinking tea from a tranny 😮 hope (it’s) not put date rape init
— Mute me (@mutemedo) July 29, 2014
I don’t know what’s up with these tranny’s saying they’re real women lol smh.
— KEI. (@L0wkei) July 27, 2014
We’ve seen enough of it, and so has Twitter as it released an updated policy banning both homophobia and transphobia in their rules of conduct.
The Twitter Rules, now explicitly ban “Hateful Content”, which is defined as follows:
“You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. We also do not allow accounts whose primary purpose is inciting harm towards others on the basis of these categories.”
Megan Cristina, Twitter’s director of trust and safety, announced the updated rules in a blog post titled “Fighting Abuse to Protect Freedom of Expression.” Her statement on the blog said Twitter felt it necessary to “clarify what we consider to be abusive behavior and hateful conduct.”
“The updated language emphasizes that Twitter will not tolerate behavior intended to harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence another user’s voice. As always, we embrace and encourage diverse opinions and beliefs — but we will continue to take action on accounts that cross the line into abuse.”
If someone violates these rules, their account will be temporarily suspended and they must delete the tweet that breaks the rules.
Thanks, Twitter!
