14 DAY TRIAL // Twitter spam isn't much of a problem, in the sense that it's not a bigger problem than in other places online, but it exists and most users encounter it from time to time. Twitter has been doing well at combating spam, at the very least, it's doing a lot better than in some previous years.
Now though, it's leaving the technological tools to the side and combating spam in another way, with lawyers. Twitter has sued five spammers or companies that make spam tools in an effort to go after the root of the problem.
"By shutting down tool providers, we will prevent other spammers from having these services at their disposal. Further, we hope the suit acts as a deterrent to other spammers, demonstrating the strength of our commitment to keep them off Twitter," Twitter wrote.
Twitter explained that, while its efforts at combating spam were paying off, trying to cut off the source might be a better solution, or at least a more effective one. Along with its improving spam-fighting tools, taking spammers to court should be a good deterrent. It also sends the signal that Twitter won't put up with spam any more.
"Our engineers continue to combat spammers’ efforts to circumvent our safeguards, and today we’re adding another weapon to our arsenal: the law," Twitter explained.
"One challenge in battling spam is bad actors who build tools designed to distribute spam on Twitter (and the web) by making it easier for other spammers to engage in this annoying and potentially malicious activity," it added.
But Twitter is also improving its existing tool, it just rolled out a new way of combating @reply spam recently, a form of targeted spam that has been on the rise. Twitter also relies on its URL shortener to control the links that enter the site and remove the ones leading to malware, phishing sites and so on.