Twitter has come under a lot of fire recently as critics have claimed it is not doing enough to prevent abuse and harrasment on its platform.
Seemingly in response to such claims, the company is said to be working a new keyword filter that should make it a lot easier to keep the trolls at bay.
The feature is expected to be smilar to Instagram’s comments blocking tool, which only popular users and business profiles can currently use.
Related: iPhone 7
When it comes to Twitter’s tool, however, all users will be able to block unwanted tweets based on specific words or phrases.
Thus far, the company has relied on users to report abuse, but has recently tried to do more to combat harrasment online, banning a high-profile user, Milo Yiannopoulos, after he was blamed for inciting harrasment against Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.
According to a Bloomberg report, Twitter has been discussing how to implement the new filtering tool “for about a year”, citing “people familiar with the matter”.
Aside from being used to block abusive content, the new tool could also be used as a way to customise the user experience on Twitter.
For example, specific hashtags could be blocked in order to filter out tweets on a particular subject that is of no interest to the user.
Twitter is remaining quiet on whether the tool will indeed be launched and when, but is expected to provide an update in the near future.
Watch The Refresh: The best tech gossip and reviews every week
Let us know what you think of Twitter’s latest anti-abuse move in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
