Social media giant Twitter has pledged to clamp down on trolls once and for all, according to reports. Malicious Twitter users are said to be hampering the site’s efforts to be a frontrunner in the online news market, and its European head, Bruce Daisley, told the Independent that Twitter was committed to cleansing the service as it enters its 10th year.
Twitter reportedly plans to introduce measures that spell out to trolls that their undesirable communications have an effect in the offline world, as well as on the internet. By making it clear that trolls’ actions exist “in the real world” and encouraging victims to expose their abusers by publishing their names, it hopes to eradicate trolling and improve its brand.
Twitter has been valued at a reported £22bn, a fraction of rival Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth has over one billion users and is valued at £167bn.
A number of high-profile users, including celebrities and politicians, have closed their Twitter accounts after falling prey to trolls lurking among the site’s 320 million users. Labour MP Stella Creasy received rape threats from a man who was eventually jailed, while Sara Payne, the mother of murdered schoolgirl Sarah, closed her account after receiving abuse.
Daisley told the Independent: “We have spent longer on user safety than any other thing. The measures have directly correlated to a reduction in the amount of bad behaviour.”