Twitter is taking a much more aggressive stance on hate speech. Here's what we know:

The changes come shortly after #WomenBoycottTwitter.
 By 
Kerry Flynn
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Twitter has been known for preaching free speech, but that's come to harm the company as trolls and abusers thrive across its network.

Now, in the wake of a movement for women to boycott Twitter, the company is making its biggest sweep of changes yet to address hate speech and abuse.

The details, leaked to Wired, were shared with members of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council Tuesday. In an email, Twitter's team outlines both its current and updated policies on several circumstances:

  • Non-consensual nudity

  • Unwanted sexual advances

  • Hate symbols and imagery

  • Violent groups

  • Tweets that glorify violence

Some of the most interesting changes include broadening Twitter's definition of non-consensual nudity to include upskirt imagery and other "creep shots," the email reads. Although that would technically violate a person's free speech, Twitter is taking a stance. The company is choosing a side that does not cater to those claims but rather airs on the side of protecting someone's privacy.

"We would rather error on the side of protecting victims and removing this type of content when we become aware of it," the email reads.

Twitter is also expanding the scope of violent groups and tweets that suggest violence.

"Although we planned on sharing these updates later this week, we hope our approach and upcoming changes, as well as our collaboration with the Trust and Safety Council, show how seriously we are rethinking our rules and how quickly we’re moving to update our policies and how we enforce them," a Twitter spokesperson wrote in a statement to Mashable.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweetstorm Friday changes would come after the #WomenBoycottTwitter movement unfolded. The email further elaborated on what these changes will be. According to Wired, Twitter is hosting daily meetings on the issue.

The Anti-Defamation League, an inaugural member of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, released a statement after news of the changes broke.

"ADL has been concerned about the hateful rhetoric and the extremists using many online platforms, including Twitter, to promote their dangerous ideologies, and we’ve been working with all the platforms to stop what ranges from harassment to acts that incite violence against minorities. We are pleased to see Twitter is responding with new concrete actions, including aggressive enforcement of their rules and hiding hate symbols," wrote ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement.

"Given the seriousness of the threat, there is much more to do," he continued. "The ability to meet these challenges is the hallmark of a company that takes these matters seriously. We look forward to continuing our work with them to help ensure hate and abuse are not welcome on Twitter."

As Twitter's Safety Team warned in the email, enacting these policies would mean more content will be taken down.

"We are comfortable making this decision, assuming that we will only be removing abusive content that violates our Rules," the email reads.

Of course, Twitter could always reverse the decision.

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Kerry Flynn

Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.

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