Twitter Suspends 235,000 More Accounts for 'Promoting Terrorism'

On Thursday, August 18, the social media network Twitter announced that it had suspended 235,000 additional accounts that violated the site's regulations regarding the promotion of terrorism. According to the Associated Press, this brings the total number of Twitter accounts removed since mid-2015 to 360,000, and the company claims it has had 'good results' in preventing the promotion of terrorism. Twitter has been under pressure to balance the protection of free speech on the platform while also avoiding becoming a tool for promoting violence and attracting individuals to terrorism. In February, Twitter also announced that it had suspended 125,000 accounts for violating the company's regulations against promoting violence and terrorism. On Thursday, the company stated: 'We strongly condemn these actions and remain committed to removing any promotion of violence and terrorism from the network.' According to Twitter, the number of accounts deleted daily has increased by 80% compared to last year, peaking in the days following terrorist attacks. The company added that its speed in detecting terrorist content and disabling accounts involved in these actions has improved, playing a decisive role in reducing the number of people following these accounts. At the same time, Twitter has implemented other measures that will make it more difficult for the owners of suspended accounts to return to the platform and has formed specific task groups to review reports related to the activation of terrorist content on the network. The Associated Press adds that last week, a judge in the United States dismissed a lawsuit accusing Twitter of allowing supporters of the group known as the 'Islamic State' to use the network as a platform. The judge accepted Twitter's response to the lawsuit, emphasizing that the platform's activities ensure freedom of speech within the law and that the company does not produce the content published on Twitter. In the U.S., the law known as 'Communications Decency Act' protects social media and online platforms from being held liable for content published by users. According to court documents, the lawsuit was filed by the families of two contract employees of the U.S. government who were killed late last year while working at a police training center operated by the U.S. in the city of Amman. A Jordanian officer who was training at this center killed two American citizens, and then the 'Islamic State' claimed that this officer was a supporter of the group acting independently. In part of his ruling, the judge stated: 'These murders, no matter how horrific, cannot be attributed to Twitter as a publisher or spokesperson for the Islamic State under the Communications Decency Act, and based on the evidence available, the company is not at fault.' In this lawsuit, Twitter was accused of providing 'material support' to extremist groups by allowing the promotion of their violence. The judge left the door open for the lawsuit to be refiled in an amended form.