Twitter wants user help in ban on ‘dehumanizing language’

Twitter is calling on its users to help shape its rules on what it considers “dehumanizing language.”

The move comes as a part of Twitter’s new push to change its user policy by broadening its restrictions and enforcement against hate speech on its platform.

{mosads}“Language that makes someone less than human can have repercussions off the service, including normalizing serious violence,” said Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s legal, policy and trust and safety chief, and Del Harvey, the company’s vice president of trust and safety.

They acknowledged that while their hate speech rules already cover some of this type of content, “there are still Tweets many people consider to be abusive, even when they do not break our rules.”

“We want to expand our hateful conduct policy to include content that dehumanizes others based on their membership in an identifiable group, even when the material does not include a direct target,” Gadde and Harvey wrote.

The company’s hate speech policy already bars inciting violence or threats against people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability or serious disease.

Now, however, Twitter wants the public’s help as it expands its protection policies.

“We want your feedback to ensure we consider global perspectives and how this policy may impact different communities and cultures,” Gadde and Harvey wrote, saying they hoped the open process would help the public better understand how Twitter creates new rules.

In its just-over-a-decade-long existence, Twitter has had to contend with its platform being used as a vehicle for abuse and harassment. High-profile celebrities, including actress Leslie Jones, have taken breaks from Twitter after enduring harassment campaigns.

The company said it’s been working to curb this, though it’s been having issues. During his recent congressional testimony, CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged his company has been “unprepared and ill-equipped” in stopping such campaigns.

He has vowed to improve the “health” of discourse on Twitter through policy and platform updates.