*SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter said on Thursday it has suspended over one millionaccounts for “promotion of terrorism” since 2015, claiming its efforts havebegun to make the platform “an undesirable place” to call for violence.*
In its latest transparency report, Twitter said it suspended 274,460accounts between July and December 2017 “for violations related to thepromotion of terrorism.”
The figure is down 8.4 percent from the previous reporting period and isthe second consecutive decline, a Twitter statement said.
“We continue to see the positive, significant impact of years of hard workmaking our site an undesirable place for those seeking to promoteterrorism, resulting in this type of activity increasingly shifting awayfrom Twitter,” said the statement from the messaging platform’s publicpolicy team.
Twitter has faced pressure from governments around the world to crack downon militants and others calling for violent attacks, while at the same timemaintaining an open platform for free speech.
In the latest six-month reporting period, Twitter said 93 percent of thesuspended accounts were “flagged by internal, proprietary tools,” and that74 percent were cut off before their first tweet.
It said government reports of violations related to the promotion ofterrorism represent less than 0.2 percent of all suspensions in the period.
Twitter also used the report to express concerns about what it called“legal threats to freedom of expression” online in countries around theworld.
“With the passage of new legislation and ongoing regulatory discussionstaking place around the world about the future of public discourse online,we are seeing a potential chilling effect with regards to freedom ofexpression,” the report said.
It cited a Human Rights Watch report suggesting that “governments aroundthe world (are) increasingly look to restrict online speech by forcingsocial media companies to act as their censors.” – APP/AFP