Abusive behavior policy

Engaging in targeted abuse or harassment on Twitter is a violation of the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service, so we've established a policy that helps us evaluate abusive behavior in its many forms. Maintaining the diversity and openness of the Twitter community is our responsibility, and so is creating a safe environment for every user.

Abusive behavior

We take action on accounts found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service, including (but not limited to) the following types of abusive behavior:

Violent threats (direct or indirect): Users may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism. Users also may not make threats or promote violence against a person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, or disability.

Abuse and harassment: Users may not engage in targeted abuse or harassment. Some of the factors that we take into account when determining what conduct is considered to be targeted abuse or harassment are:

if a primary purpose of the reported account is to send abusive messages to others;
if the reported behavior is one-sided or includes threats;
if the reported user is inciting others to harass another user; and
if the reported user is sending harassing messages to a user from multiple accounts.

Self-harm: Users may encounter someone considering suicide or self harm on Twitter. When we receive reports that another user is threatening suicide or self harm, we may take a number of steps to assist the reported user, such as reaching out to that user expressing our concern and the concern of other users on Twitter or providing resources such as contact information for our mental health partners.

Private information: You may not publish or post other people's private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, street address, or Social Security/National Identity numbers, without their express authorization and permission. In addition, you may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent. Read more about our private information policy here.

Impersonation: You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others. Read more about our impersonation policy here.

Please note that when a Tweet or account is reported, we may investigate the full account reported, including profile, media and other Tweets.

Offensive content and mediation

Offensive content is tolerated as long as it does not violate the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service. Additionally, we do not mediate content or intervene in disputes between users.

Twitter provides a global communication platform which encompasses a variety of users with different voices, ideas and perspectives. Because of this diversity, you may encounter content you consider to be inflammatory or inappropriate that is not considered a violation of our rules. To help you control your experience, we've collected information about the tools you have that you can use to tailor your Twitter experience. Read about them in this article.

Accounts found to be in violation

When an account violates our abusive behavior policy, the actions we take against that account depend on the severity of the violation. We may ask users to verify or provide information, delete specific Tweets, or we may suspend or lock the account temporarily or permanently.

Report abuse to us

If you encounter something abusive on Twitter, report it to us. For instructions about how to report abusive behavior, read this article.

We've outlined information about how to report other types of violations (for example, copyright or trademark violations, spam, etc.) in this article.

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Saturday, November 28, 2015