Twitter creates new council to fight abuse

Twitter is forming a new council, which will be a coalition of outside groups and experts, to help shape its products and policies in a way that could fight abuse and attract more users

Twitter is forming a new council, which will be a coalition of outside groups and experts, to help shape its products and policies in a way that could fight abuse and attract more users (AFP)

Twitter is forming a new council, which will be a coalition of outside groups and experts, to help shape its products and policies in a way that could fight abuse and attract more users.

"To ensure people can continue to express themselves freely and safely on Twitter, we must provide more tools and policies," the company said in a blog post adding that the coalition will comprise 40 groups from 13 regions including advocacy organisations and safety experts.

The introduction of the council is the latest response by Twitter to combat abuse faced by some users. In late 2014, Twitter unveiled a series of new tools to make it easier to block abusive users and report them for harassment.

Twitter also introduced some small tweaks to its privacy policy in December detailing what actions qualify as abusive behaviour, including an emphasis on "hateful conduct."

Twitter stands for freedom of expression, speaking truth to power, and empowering dialogue. That starts with safety. https://t.co/PbEoM1lCyb

— Jack (@jack) February 9, 2016

Earlier, former CEO Dick Costolo had said it was obvious that "we suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform." Current CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted Tuesday, "Twitter stands for freedom of expression, speaking truth to power, and empowering dialogue."

The moves come as Twitter attempts to speed up growth in its monthly active user base, which has slowed in recent quarters.