With 330 million Twitter users, it’s common to come across Twitter accounts that publish hateful or abusive tweets. While it’s OK to ignore someone’s tweets if it’s their first time, if you see someone with repetitive abusive behavior, it’s best to report the Twitter account. It would be even better to ensure they are suspended or deleted to make sure they learn their lesson well.
In this article, we will learn when to report a Twitter account, how to do it, and what happens thereafter.
When should you report a Twitter account and how to do it:
There could be many other reasons to report a Twitter account and get them deleted. Some common reasons are:
Sensitive content:
Is the Twitter account sharing pornographic media or content not suitable for a public platform? Any sensitive content can be reported to Twitter.
How to report:
When you report a tweet, you see an option to report sensitive media if the tweet contains sensitive content.
When you select sensitive photo/video, you can then select further how it classifies as sensitive and provide more information.
Trademark violation or copyright violation:
Twitter takes any trademark violation or copyright violation very seriously and this can also result in immediate suspension of the reported account if proven guilty. But, reporting a trademark or copyright violation is a legal process on Twitter and you need to have all necessary documents to support your case.
How to report:
You can report a trademark infringement here and a copyright infringement here to report a Twitter account.
Abusive or hateful behavior:
Another complaint that’s a serious matter on Twitter is people posting abusive or hateful conduct. If you find someone’s tweets abusive or hateful for personal or other reasons, you can report their tweet or Twitter account. Any violent/terrorism-related/hateful/child harrassment/abusive tweets can be reported under this category.
How to report:
To report an abusive tweet, click on the overflow icon next to the tweet, select “Report tweet,” select “It’s abusive or harmful” and then follow the steps ahead.
Impersonation:
You can report a Twitter account if it impersonates a person. Impersonation is only reported for individuals and not for brands. If brands or companies face an impersonation issue, they can file a trademark or copyright infringement as mentioned above. If Twitter finds the reported account violating the policy, it will either suspend the account or ask them to update the account details.
How to report:To report a Twitter account for impersonation, you need to file an impersonation report here.
What happens when you report a Twitter account:
When you report a Twitter account, Twitter analyzes the complaint and sends a few emails to you and the reported account to further investigate the case. Once they have sufficient information and they find the claim correct, they will either ask the Twitter account to remove the content or suspend their account. The account is usually suspended in case of multiple violations and reports. Getting the account suspended is equivalent to getting the account deleted as the reported user cannot access their account anymore.
So, follow the steps above based on how you find the Twitter account abusive and report them accordingly.