Twitter’s appeal has long been connected in part to its reputation as a user-controlled firehose, as opposed to a place where an algorithm determines what you see and don’t see. But that’s changed recently, at least incrementally.
The company rolled out two abuse filters last spring, to help improve Twitter’s response to harassment on its site: an opt-in, aggressive quality filter for any verified Twitter user; and a second, less comprehensive abuse screener that’s currently being tested on all users of the site, with no option to opt out, according to a person familiar with the matter. (The Guardian first reported on the abuse screener in April, when it was introduced.) These measures have been welcomed by many who advocated for the site to find a better way to address harassment.
