Twitter reviews policies around permanent user bans – FT

(Reuters) -Twitter Inc is reviewing its policies around permanently banning users, possibly bringing its content moderation in line with Elon Musk’s vision for the social media platform, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Twitter has been exploring if there are other content moderation tools that could replace a ban, its harshest penalty for violating rules, the newspaper said, citing multiple people familiar with the situation.

Back in May, shortly after inking a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, Musk had pledged changes to the social media platform’s content moderation practices.

Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, had also said he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former U.S. President Donald Trump.

However, the FT report said any policy change would be unlikely to pave the way for Trump’s return to the platform since Twitter is not considering reversing bans issued for breaching its policy against inciting violence.

Employees are looking at areas where they feel Twitter may have banned users for lesser offences, such as sharing misleading information, the report added.

“Our core tenets — choice and control, transparency, legitimacy, and fairness — have been guiding our work for years, and as the public conversation continues to evolve, our approach will too,” the company’s spokesperson told Reuters.

Twitter restricted Kanye West’s account over the weekend, saying it removed posts by the rapper that online users condemned as anti-Semitic.

Representatives for Donald Trump did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Rhea Binoy; Editing by Uttaresh.V and Savio D’Souza)