philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

TWITTER RELEASES NEW POLICY ON ‘DEHUMANIZING SPEECH’

Twitter on Tuesday announced a new policy addressing “dehumanizing speech,” which will take effect later this year, and for the first time the public will be able to formally provide the company with feedback on the proposed rule.

The policy will prohibit “content that dehumanizes others based on their membership in an identifiable group, even when the material does not include a direct target.” It expands upon Twitter’s existing hateful conduct policy prohibiting users from threatening violence or directly attacking a specific individual on the basis of characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, or gender.

“Dehumanization is important since it leads to real harm; it's just challenging to define precisely, and it's critical to protect freedom of speech as well,” says Benesch.

After the dehumanizing speech statute becomes a permanent part of Twitter’s rules, the hardest work of actually enforcing it will begin. Unlike, say, a cryptocurrency scam, dehumanizing speech might be difficult to spot—in part because it’s dependent on context and hard to exactly define.

What's more, Twitter may need to decide what to do about high-profile users like President Donald Trump, who once tweetedthat Democrats want illegal immigrants “to pour into and infest our Country.” The company historically has allowed for world leaders whose statements may violate policies but also are newsworthy.

See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-dehumanizing-speech-policy/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=0326bcf089-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_25_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-0326bcf089-153894145