Twitter seeks public input on ways to handle world leaders on its platform

Microblogging platform Twitter announced that it is seeking public input as to how it should handle world leaders on the platform—particularly the ones who violate its rules.

"Politicians and government officials are constantly evolving how they use our service, and we want our policies to remain relevant to the ever-changing nature of political discourse on Twitter and protect the health of the public conversation. That’s why we’re reviewing our approach to world leaders and seeking your input," Twitter said in a blog post.

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Twitter said that it wants to hear from the public on whether or not they believe world leaders should be subject to the same rules as others on Twitter. "And, should a world leader violate a rule, what type of enforcement action is appropriate," it noted.

The platform will release a survey on 19 March seeking responses from public. The questionnaire will be available in the coming days in 14 languages including English, Hindi and Urdu with a deadline of 5 pm (Pacific Time) on 12 April.

"This is to ensure a global perspective is reflected in the feedback and mirrors the approach we've taken with previous public surveys," Twitter said.

The social media platform said that the survey will help inform the development of its policy framework which was first released in October 2019. Under this framework, Twitter has defined its approach and enforcement scenarios towards accounts of world leaders.

"We want to serve the public conversation and allow the public to hear from and engage with leaders around the world. Ultimately, our aim is to have a policy that appropriately balances fundamental human rights and considers the global context in which we operate," Twitter noted.

Twitter will also be consulting with a range of human rights experts, civil society organizations, and academics worldwide whose feedback will be reflected in forthcoming revisions to the policy framework.

The microblogging platform has maintained that blocking or removing the tweets of world leaders would hide information that's meant for public debate, even if it violates its rules. However, on 8 January, Twitter permanently suspended the account of former president Donald Trump citing the the risk of incitement of violence. The platform said that Trump's tweets violated its guidelines and the public interest framework that exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly.

That policy was continually put to the test by former president who was banned from the platform after the Capitol Hill riot that took place in January, when Twitter determined that his tweets carried a risk of inciting additional violence.