• Twitter has updated its rules in terms of published content and communication between users.
• Many of the regulations are similar to those previously enforced with the most updated rules around authenticity on the platform.
• Under new owner Elon Musk, the platform has been spun into chaos yet it is reporting “all-time high” usage.

The world’s most spoken-about social media company has updated its rules. Twitter users will now be bound by a renewed list of lines they are not permitted to cross in terms of safety, privacy, authenticity and enforcement and appeals.

According to controversial new owner Elon Musk, these new rules on Twitter are dynamic and will “evolve over time.” Most of these rules are similar to Twitter’s previous set of user regulations and present in most other social media platforms.

Apparently, according to Musk, Twitter usage is at an all-time high despite the ongoing chaos so this marks a good moment to remind users about the platform’s rules.

Twitter usage is at an all-time high lol

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 8, 2022

“Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation,” reads an official blog post outlining the updated regulations.

“Violence, harassment and other similar types of behaviour discourage people from expressing themselves and ultimately diminish the value of global public conversation. Our rules are to ensure all people can participate in the public conversation freely and safely.”

Users on Twitter may not threaten violence against other users or groups. The glorification of violence is also prohibited as Twitter says that it could inspire others to perform violent acts.

Twitter defines glorification with examples, such as tweeting something similar to “I’m glad this happened”, “This person is my hero”, “I wish more people did things like this”, or “I hope this inspires others to act.”

The promotion of terrorism or terrorist acts is prohibited and the company says it has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation on the platform.

Accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks will be removed and tweets from these accounts will also be deleted.

Engaging in targeted harassment or inciting others to do so will see your account banned.

The promotion of hateful conduct through imagery or display names, including the harassment of people basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease, will also be policed on the platform.

“Twitter’s mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information, and to express their opinions and beliefs without barriers. Free expression is a human right,” the company says.

“Our role is to serve the public conversation, which requires representation of a diverse range of perspectives.”

Media depicting graphic violence may not be distributed on the platform and users may not have sexually explicit content in their profile or headers.

Nudity and media depicting explicit sex seems to be allowed as long as it follows the above restrictions. However, Twitter says this content is being restricted for users who are under 18 years or who do not include a birth date on their profile.

Users who publish the private information of others (such as phone numbers, addresses, or even their GPS coordinates) will be punished by the platform. Unless, says Twitter, the posting has express permission from the person to whom it belongs.

Recently, Musk tweeted that he would not be banning the account of user @ElonJet who tracks the location of the billionaire’s flights. Musk says this serves as a sign of his commitment to free speech.

My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

The locations of civilian planes in mid-flight are freely available on public platforms such FlightAware and ADS-B Exchange due to public safety concerns.

All planes are tracked all the time (even military flights if you know where to look) either by respective towers or by online applications that leverage data collected from satellites.

Flight location information is not private, not even for private jets or privately chartered flights.

The largest section of the new rules is in the “Authenticity” section. The authenticity of users has been in question in recent weeks with Musk announcing that Twitter will be giving subscribers of Twitter Blue a verification check.

Originally, verification on Twitter served celebrities and notable public figures so that users could know that they were legitimate and not hoax accounts or fakes and the previous verification process reflected this.

Now, as verification becomes a paid feature anyone can have a blue check mark and be “legitimate.” This was recently played for satire by users who began impersonating Elon Musk.

Many of these users have been promptly banned. According to Twitter, “You may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on Twitter.”

Musk says that parody accounts are allowed as long as they make it clear that they are parodies. Yet several users have reported that they noticed accounts being banned despite this.

The dissemination of “synthetic and manipulated” media also falls under this section. These rules outlaw the sharing of fake news and false narratives through fabricated images, videos, audio and other media “depicting a real person [which has been] fabricated or simulated, especially through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.”

Twitter will seek to apply labels to synthetic and manipulated media to help users understand their authenticity.

Civic integrity is another notable rule included in the update. This highlights that users may not use Twitter’s services for the “purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes.”

On Monday Musk published (and pinned) a tweet urging “independent-minded voters” to vote for the Republic party in the ongoing midterm elections in the US.

To independent-minded voters:

Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

His reasoning is that too much-shared power by a single party negatively affects more people and that a more democratic government is more beneficial. Since the American presidency is democratic, more republican seats would return balance.

While analysts suggest that Musk’s comments will have little impact on the actual election, the remarks are the first time a major tech entrepreneur in charge of a significant social media platform has ever outright shared a political opinion in such a manner.

Users can find the full list of rules here.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]