Twitter says it mistakenly suspended accounts after ‘coordinated and malicious reports’ following new privacy policy

Twitter says it mistakenly suspended accounts after “coordinated and malicious reports” following its new privacy policy. 

Twitter spokesman Trenton Kennedy said in a statement Friday that the social media giant mistakenly suspended accounts after a “significant amount [of] coordinated and malicious reports” targeted accounts, The Washington Post reported.

The high volume of reports caused enforcement teams at Twitter to make “several errors.”

The statement came after The Washington Post reported that far-right activists were targeting anti-extremism journalists following Twitter’s new privacy policy. 

The vaguely worded policy that has received much criticism says a person can request a photo or video tweeted of themselves to be removed if it was put up without their consent. 

The policy’s goal is to prevent “the misuse of media to harass or intimidate private individuals.” 

Photos of officials or newsworthy figures are still allowed on the site, as well as media that adds “value to public discourse.”

Far-right activists used the new rule as an opportunity to flag accounts that identified extremists’, according to The Washington Post. 

“A dozen erroneous suspensions” occurred as a result of the mass reports, Kennedy said.

“We’ll have more to share on the review later,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to Twitter for comment.