Twitter has introduced a new anti-harassment feature. The social media platform will start experimenting with its new Safety Mode. This is a new account setting that can automatically block accounts that use abusive or harmful language. The feature was introduced in February during the Analyst Day presentation. It will now be available to a small group as part of the test. The widespread availability is not yet announced.
When the Safety Mode is enabled, accounts that act as a source of harassment will be blocked for seven days. Twitter states that the feature is developed in such a way that it won’t block the accounts of people known to you or frequently interact with you. But trolls will be blocked. Accounts that use potentially abusive language like insults or hate speech as well as accounts that send numerous replies and mentions will be blocked using the Safety Mode. Twitter added that when the feature is turned on, its systems will analyze the possibility of a harmful interaction taking into account the Tweet’s content and the relationship between the person who created the post and the person mentioned.
Twitter has introduced many anti-harassment features. But the problem still continued. Safety Mode is different in the way that it takes the burden of reporting the abuse from the person who is being harassed. The feature will be able to block accounts even before the other person sees such abusive or hate content. The feature is still in its early stage. So, Twitter has said that it may make some mistakes. Users are given the option to manually review the content and accounts blocked by the Safety Mode. If a mistake is found with the system, the block can be removed. Also, after seven days, users will get a recapping of the actions taken by Saftey Mode.
