Twitter unveiled a new system for reporting abuse on Tuesday and rolled it out to a small group of users, with plans to expand it in the coming weeks.
The revamped system includes fewer steps to report abuse, and a new blocked accounts page that includes features for managing accounts a user has blocked. A user who has been blocked by an account will no longer be able to view that profile page.
Twitter said these features would be available to all users in the next few weeks.
Shreyas Doshi, Twitter’s director of product management and user safety, said in a blogpost that the changes are part of a move by the company to improve abuse reporting on the site.
“We are nowhere near being done making changes in this area,” wrote Doshi. “In the coming months, you can expect to see additional user controls, further improvements to reporting and new enforcement procedures for abusive accounts.”
Like many other corners of the internet, Twitter has been a repository for abusive language. It can also get alarmingly personal, as evidenced recently by #gamergate – an online movement that targeted feminist video game critics.
These critics received violent threats, occasionally with specific details about where they live after the information was posted on other sites.
Twitter’s reported 23% year-on-year user growth in the third quarter, though analysis showed that people are engaging with the site less. Throughout November, the company’s top executives sold off millions in stock holdings with the company.
