Twitter makes it easier to flag abusive tweets, users

WASHINGTON — Twitter is rolling out new ways to report abusive
tweets and users, even if the person reporting the harassment isn’t the
victim.

In a blog
post, Twitter says it’s “improving the reporting process to make it much
more mobile-friendly, require less initial information, and overall, make it
simpler to flag Tweets and accounts for review.”

In addition, the microblogging site is adding a Blocked Accounts page, which
will be visible on a desktop from the Settings menu on Twitter.com.

Twitter says the updates are available now for a small group of users, but in
“the coming weeks we will roll them out to everyone.”

How to use Twitter’s new reporting feature

To report an objectionable or harassing tweet on a phone, the user must be
viewing it on the Twitter app.

The reporting user can choose to block the person who sent the tweet and/or
file a report.

The person reporting the tweet is offered four options to characterize the
tweet: Impersonation, Private Information, Harassment, or Self-harm or
Suicide.

The reporting user is asked whether he is personally being affected or
observing it it happening to other users.

The reporter can choose to add optional details before sending the report to
Twitter. A confirmation email is sent to the person who files the report.

In its blog post, Twitter says it’s made “several behind-the-scenes
improvements to the tools and processes that help us review reported Tweets
and accounts.”

Here’s Twitter’s video, which shows how to use the new features:

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