In a recent blog post, Twitter announced it is stepping up its policy against dehumanizing content on the popular social media platform. Specifically, the blog post underlines that the website will be taking in more user responses and suggestions to stop the use of "language that makes someone less than human." This change was prompted after a majority of content did not fall under the existing "hateful conduct policy" but were still considered abusive.
To garner information on what may be considered dehumanizing content Twitter is opening up a survey until October 9, 2018. The information garnered from this survey will then be reviewed by Twitter employees in the policy development department, user research, engineering and enforcement teams.
Social Media Content Protection
Twitter is Improving its Policies to Stop Dehumanizing Content
Trend Themes
1. Dehumanizing Content Prevention - Twitter is improving its content policy to prevent the use of language that makes someone less than human, which indicates an opportunity to develop systems for detecting and preventing dehumanizing content in real-time.
2. Crowdsourced Content Moderation - Twitter will take in more user responses and suggestions to stop the use of abusive content, which could lead to opportunities to develop crowdsourced content moderation systems.
3. Consumer-centric Content Moderation - Twitter's survey about dehumanizing content provides an opportunity to develop consumer-centric content moderation policies that better align with user preferences.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media - Social media companies can leverage Twitter's new content protection policies as a model to promote healthier online communities.
2. Content Moderation - Content moderation companies can use the trend towards cracking down on dehumanizing content as an opportunity to market their services as a necessary protection against harmful content.
3. Market Research - The use of surveys to discern user preferences on social media platforms presents an opportunity for companies in the market research industry to provide valuable insights and consulting services to tech companies.