Twitter seeks public input on policy framework for content posted by world leaders

Twitter wants your input on what its response should be when a world leader violates a rule and what type of enforcement action is appropriate.

Twitter to revise policy for content posted by world leaders

Twitter has always found itself at crossroads when it comes to censoring or taking any action against content posted by politicians and government officials. The micro-blogging platform did ban former US President Donald Trump following the Capital riots. But, it also faced questions over whether the company had the right to do so. Now, Twitter is seeking public input on how its response should be when a world leader violates a rule on its platform.

“Politicians and government officials are constantly evolving how they use our service, and we want our policies to remain relevant to the ever-changing nature of political discourse on Twitter and protect the health of the public conversation. That's why we're reviewing our approach to world leaders and seeking your input,” the company said in a blog post.

Twitter will seek responses through a public survey to develop its policy framework on this issue. The questionnaire will be available in the coming days in at least 14 languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Urdu. The survey will close on April 2, 2021.

That said, having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications. While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation. And a time for us to reflect on our operations and the environment around us.

— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021

Twitter has always found itself at crossroads when it comes to censoring or taking any action against content posted by politicians and government officials. The micro-blogging platform did ban former US President Donald Trump following the Capital riots. But, it also faced questions over whether the company had the right to do so. Now, Twitter is seeking public input on how its response should be to a world leader if he/she violates a rule.

“Politicians and government officials are constantly evolving how they use our service, and we want our policies to remain relevant to the ever-changing nature of political discourse on Twitter and protect the health of the public conversation. That's why we're reviewing our approach to world leaders and seeking your input,” the company said in a blog post.

Twitter will seek responses through a public survey to develop its policy framework on this issue. The questionnaire will be available in the coming days in at least 14 languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Urdu. The survey will close on April 2, 2021.|#+|

Apart from conducting a public survey, Twitter revealed that it was also consulting with human rights experts, civil society organisations and academics globally. Their inputs will also be taken for the revised policy framework.

“We want to serve the public conversation and allow the public to hear from and engage with leaders around the world. Ultimately, our aim is to have a policy that appropriately balances fundamental human rights and considers the global context in which we operate,” the post added.

In 2019, Twitter had first explained its policies around its approach to content posted by world leaders. Noting that the accounts of world leaders were not above its policies entirely, Twitter also said that the company faces the challenge of formulating a “yes/no” binary decision on the issue. The company also laid out a few points basis on which it could take action against a world leader on its platform. The list included things such as the promotion of terrorism, clear and direct threats of violence, and posting or sharing intimate photos.