Twitter to introduce autoblocking after Euro 2020 racist abuse
Twitter will trial automatic blocking of accounts that post harmful language after Brits used the platform to hurl racist abuse at England footballers following the Euros final.
The social media giant said the UK was “by far” the biggest source of abusive tweets sent on the night of England’s defeat to Italy and in the following days.
Twitter said its automated tools identified and removed 1,600 tweets during the final and in the 24 hours that followed, while it also responded to reports.
By 14 July 1,961 tweets had been removed, with a total of 126 taken down following reports.
In a blog post published today Twitter said it will now trial a new feature that automatically blocks accounts that use harmful language on a temporary basis.
It will also continue to roll out reply prompts that encourage users to revise their tweets when they use offensive language.
Twitter and other social media platforms are facing growing scrutiny over their failure to crack down on harmful content online.
The UK is preparing new laws that will hold companies responsible for material posted to their platforms, with hefty fines for breaches.
Twitter insisted that identification checks would not have prevented the abuse during the Euros as 99 per cent of the accounts that were permanently suspended were not anonymous.
“Racist behaviour does not reflect the vast majority of people who use Twitter to participate in vibrant conversations about football in the UK,” Twitter said.
“Critically, the word ‘proud’ was used more often on the day following the final than on any other day this year, as people expressed their support for the England team.”