Twitter UK plans to add Report Abuse button after abuse complaints

As weeks of struggle between feminists and trolls played out on Twitter over Jane Austen gracing a bank note in England, Twitter UK has introduced changes in the way abuse is reported on the website. The micro-blogging website’s UK arm has assured that it believes people deserve to feel safe on Twitter.

The service has updated Twitter Rules to clarify that it does not tolerate abusive behaviour. “We want people to feel safe on Twitter, and we want the Twitter Rules to send a clear message to anyone who thought that such behaviour was, or could ever be, acceptable,” Del Harvey, Senior Director of Trust and Safety, and Tony Wang, General Manager, Twitter UK, wrote in a blog post.

Better ways to report abuse coming soon

The micro-blogging website has assured that a Report Abuse button will be made available on the website. The button can currently be seen in the iOS and mobile web for Twitter. The Report Abuse button – which will be seen on Android too – will let users report abusive behaviour with one click, instead of having to navigate through multiple pages and heading to the Help Centre to do so.

The Twitter heads also wrote that they were working with the UK Safer Internet Centre to expand on the site’s user resources on digital citizenship and staying safe online. “We will also use the Twitter platform – including Promoted Tweets and a Promoted Trend – to bring more attention to the important resources the UK Safer Internet Centre has developed and the ongoing work they are doing,” they wrote.

Trouble started when UK feminist and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully led a campaign to make Jane Austen the face of a UK banknote in 2017, faced a barrage of tweets threatening her with rape and violence. Criado-Perez’s supporters started a petition, imploring Twitter to make the place safer for women, even as UK lawmaker Stella Creasy became a victim of these trolls.

Twitter UK could take a leaf out of Facebook’s book, which came up with a booklet to help survivors of domestic abuse handle privacy on the website better. Twitter could publish a similar guideline booklet to help women tackle trolls who threaten with rape and violence.