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Monday, October 7, 2024

Twitter suspends over a million accounts for ‘promotion of terrorism’

News Desk |

On April 5, 2018, Twitter said that it has suspended more than one million accounts for “promotion of terrorism” since 2015. Twitter representative stated that its efforts have begun to make the platform “an undesirable place” to call for violence.

According to the latest transparency report published by Twitter, it suspended 274,460 accounts between July and December 2017 “for violations related to the promotion of terrorism.”The figure is down 8.4 percent from the previous reporting period and is the second consecutive decline.

Under pressure from state actors, Twitter started suspending those accounts which threatened public safety. However, some Twitter officials stated that governments often use the threats of violence as a pretext to clamp down upon dissidence and free speech.

A statement from the messaging platform’s public policy team read, “We continue to see the positive, significant impact of years of hard work making our site an undesirable place for those seeking to promote terrorism, resulting in this type of activity increasingly shifting away from Twitter”.

In the latest six-month reporting period, Twitter said 93 percent of the suspended accounts were “flagged by internal, proprietary tools,” and that 74 percent were cut off before their first tweet.

Read more: Twitter fails to take action against Trump nuclear threats

“With the passage of new legislation and ongoing regulatory discussions taking place around the world about the future of public discourse online, we are seeing a potential chilling effect with regards to freedom of expression,” the report said.

The report also cited a Human Rights Watch report suggesting that “governments around the world (are) increasingly looking to restrict online speech by forcing social media companies to act as their censors. “

Twitter said that it has suspended more than one million accounts for “promotion of terrorism” since 2015. Twitter representative stated that its efforts have begun to make the platform “an undesirable place” to call for violence.

Social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have been used by jihadists and other non-state actors around the world. Social media forums in recent years have faced extreme pressure from governments and civil societies alike to shut down accounts which promote violent attacks or any form of violence.

Under pressure from state actors, Twitter started suspending those accounts which threatened public safety. However, some Twitter officials stated that governments often use the threats of violence as a pretext to clamp down upon dissidence and free speech.

Read more: Twitter begins enforcing rules on ‘hateful, abusive’ content

Hasan Riaz, senior research analyst in a renowned think tank in Islamabad in a recent interview with GVS stated that China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and several other states have successfully used violence as scapegoat to suppress free speech. He also expressed apprehensions over the increasing crack down on social media accounts in Pakistan.

Moreover, Human Rights Watch in a recent report suggested that “governments around the world (are) increasingly looking to restrict online speech by forcing social media companies to act as their censors. “

Social media platforms must not become a tool for terrorist propaganda. Moreover, governments must also not suppress free speech by using violence as a pretext.