Twitter Releases New Policy on 'Dehumanizing Speech'

Twitter announced a new policy addressing “dehumanizing speech,” which will take effect later in 2018, and for the first time the public will be able to formally provide the company with feedback on the proposed rule. The policy will prohibit “content that dehumanizes others based on their membership in an identifiable group, even when the material does not include a direct target.” It expands upon Twitter’s existing hateful conduct policy prohibiting users from threatening violence or directly attacking a specific individual on the basis of characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, or gender. Susan Benesch, whose research Twitter cites in its announcement, defines dehumanizing speech as “describing other people in ways that deny or diminish their humanity,” like comparing them to insects, demons, or bacteria. Twitter is hosting an open comment period on the rule before it goes into effect, a practice seemingly modeled after the US federal rule-making process. The comment period will remain open until Oct 9th.