Twitter's new verification policy to come in effect from 20 January, expected to remove blue ticks from several accounts

Twitter will start enforcing its new blue tick verification policy from 20 January 2021. As per Twitter, the new policy will lay the foundation for future improvements. It will define what verification means and who will be eligible for verification. The policy will also mention why some accounts might lose verification ensuring that the program is more equitable. In the new verification policy, the verified badges will automatically be removed from inactive handles as well as from accounts that are incomplete. A verified account may also lose its blue tick if inactive or violates the policies of Twitter. [caption id=“attachment_6087431” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Twitter under its new policy may also remove verification from accounts that are found to be in severe or repeated violation of the rules of the micro-blogging site.[/caption] As per Twitter, the new policy will consider an account complete if it has a verified email address or phone number, a profile image and a display image. If the Twitter user account is at risk of losing its verified badge, he/she will be receiving an automated email and an in-app notification informing him/her of what changes need to be made to restrict from being automatically removed from blue verified badge. To retain the badge, the user will have to make the changes before 20 January 2021. “We are not planning to automatically remove the verified badge from inactive accounts of people who are no longer living, and are working on building a way to memorialise these accounts in 2021,” Twitter said in its blog page. Twitter under its new policy may also remove verification from accounts that are found to be in severe or repeated violation of the rules of the micro-blogging site. Twitter will relaunch public application for new verification model in early 2021. It will be available on the Account Settings page on the web and in-app. Users will be asked to select a category for their verified status. They will be asked to confirm their identity via links and other relevant supporting materials. The categories that will be recognised by Twitter with new verification policies include companies, brands, media outlets, journalists, entertainment figures, sports-related accounts, government officials whom Twitter has already been verifying. There will also be a broad “activist, organiser and other influential individuals” category. Twitter is also planning to explore adding dedicated categories for academics, scientists and religious leaders in 2021. Twitter had in November 2017 hit pause on the verification application process after users’ outcry to verify the account of a protestor Jason Kessler. The micro-blogging site announced that it was working on “a new authentication and verification” process. Also, it began reviewing the verified accounts that violated rules of Twitter.