online abuse

Tom Raftery

Twitter Claims Anti-Abuse Tools Are Working — But Where’s The Data?

After launching various new efforts to combat harassment and abuse, Twitter says it’s doing a bangup job of making users feel safer on the platform. But that’s according to internal data, hard numbers the company isn’t sharing — at least, not yet. [More]

Twitter Ditching Default Egg Profile Photos Because They’re Tied To “Negative Behavior”

Twitter Ditching Default Egg Profile Photos Because They’re Tied To “Negative Behavior”

If you want to harass your fellow internet denizens on Twitter, you’ll have to do it without the cover of an anonymous egg in your profile photo: The social media site says it’s doing away with its default avatar, partly because it’s become associated with online harassment and other bad behaviors. [More]

Twitter Confirms It’s Trying To Identify Abusive Accounts Before Anyone Reports Them

Twitter Confirms It’s Trying To Identify Abusive Accounts Before Anyone Reports Them

Twitter is on a roll: In its second safety update of the year aimed at curbing harassment on its platform, the social media network says it will now proactively try to identify abusive accounts — even before anyone has reported them for being abusive. [More]

Instagram To Let You Turn Off Commenting & “Like” Positive Comments

Instagram To Let You Turn Off Commenting & “Like” Positive Comments

Just weeks after Twitter announced that it would be stepping up its efforts to hide and report harassment and abuse, Instagram says it’s also launching a new tool to give users more controls over the comments on the photos and videos they post. [More]