Social media site launches safety center to help deal with online abuse

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July 22, 2015 9:40 AM

The new section offers tips on dealing with online abuse, a part of Twitter's ongoing efforts to double down on trolls, stalkers, and other forms of online harassment.

Pictorial representation of Twitter's new Safety Center

According to reports, Twitter launched a new Safety Center on Monday, intended as "a resource for anyone to learn about online safety, on Twitter and beyond."

Sources say the new section offers tips on dealing with online abuse, a part of Twitter's ongoing efforts to double down on trolls, stalkers, and other forms of online harassment. Former CEO Dick Costolo had acknowledged the problem in an internal mail earlier this year, when he was quoted as having said "We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years."

Last month, Twitter had rolled out a feature that lets users export and share block lists of abusive users. In April this year, Twitter had updated its violent threats policy to extend prohibition "threats of violence against others or promot[ing] violence against others."

Twitter says the Safety Center has dedicated sections for teens, families and educators, with guidelines for safe tweeting and explains Twitter's built-in features to to deal with with online bullies, such as muting, blocking.

A section of the page on enforcement tells you how Twitter handles violations, based on severity. "We may ask the reported and the reporter(s) to submit Tweets, links, and other evidence that might help us come to a decision."

"This resource is a result of our work with online safety experts who continuously help us to promote good digital citizenship." wrote Patricia Cartes, Head of Global Trust & Safety Outreach on the Twitter blog, in her announcement of the launch of the section.

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