Twitter has sought public opinion on whether world leaders should be subject to the same set of rules as others on the microblogging platform and appropriate enforcement action in case of violation of norms by them. Twitter said it is “reviewing” approach to world leaders as it wants its policies to remain relevant to the ever-changing nature of political discourse on the platform, and protect the health of the public conversation. “Generally, we want to hear from the public on whether or not they believe world leaders should be subject to the same rules as others on Twitter. And, should a world leader violate a rule, what type of enforcement action is appropriate,” the microblogging platform said in a blogpost.
Towards this, starting Friday, Twitter will seek responses to a public survey that would help define the policy framework. The survey will close on April 12. The questionnaire will be available in 14 languages — Hindi, English, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Urdu. Twitter informed that it is in the process of consulting with a range of human rights experts, civil society organisations, and academics worldwide whose feedback would be reflected in forthcoming changes to the policy framework.
“We want to serve the public conversation and allow the public to hear from and engage with leaders around the world. Ultimately, our aim is to have a policy that appropriately balances fundamental human rights and considers the global context in which we operate,” it said. Twitter, Facebook and other platforms globally have come under lens for the manner of treatment of accounts of global leaders, and politicians. It is pertinent to mention here that Twitter had banned Donald Trump’s account in January, citing “risk of incitement of violence” after the US Capitol Hill siege.
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