New tool allows users to report threats to the police

Mar 19, 2015 12:14 GMT  ·  By

According to a recent article published on the Twitter blog, users can now report threats easier than before.

To be more specific, the social network has come up with a brand new tool which allows us to receive the report related to the threatening tweet by clicking on the “Email report” button after choosing the “It’s abusive or harmful” option and filling in the required information.

After clicking this button, you should receive an email containing a detailed report you can later on print and provide to an authorized person from the local law enforcement, if necessary.

This report serves as a record which can prove to be quite useful, given that it offers exact details concerning important information such as the date and time, the original tweet and so on.

Furthermore, after sending the report to Twitter, they have the obligation to thoroughly check all the information provided and suspend the account of the person who started the whole thing if they consider it necessary.

Since it should take a while for Twitter to analyze all the reports they receive from their users, having this record allows the victims to take the matter into their own hands and contact the police department in hope of a quicker reply.

Other measures have been implemented

This measure seems to be part of a bigger process initiated by Twitter in order to reduce the cases of cyber bullying and online harassment.

Quite recently, the social network put a ban on revenge porn by changing their rules and guidelines and preventing anyone from posting videos or photos without the prior consent of the person appearing in those specific photos or videos. What led them to make this decision was the increase in the amount of users trying to take revenge against their exes by posting nude pictures online.

The fight that Twitter is compelled to lead against online harassment does not end here and we should expect other such measures meant to provide a safer and friendlier environment for its users.