-black.png){kind=logo}
Twitter is prohibiting impersonation, the practice of creating a fake account with the intent to deceive, on its platform.
The company announced Thursday that it would suspend accounts that violate its rules, which prohibit users from representing themselves as another person or organisation. The suspension has already begun under the new policy, which was first reported by TechCrunch.
The company said that it is also looking at how to better identify malicious behaviour and will work with external groups and other industry leaders on this issue. It's official: Twitter is suspending accounts that impersonate others.
The company has been using a system to recognize and hold accountable accounts that violate its rules, but the process has not been perfect. The new system is intended to catch violations more quickly and also hold users accountable for their behaviour.
Twitter has long struggled with impersonation and trolling on its service, but the problem has gotten worse as the company has grown. The company keeps tabs on fake accounts by requiring users to authenticate themselves with a phone number or email address before they can post tweets or change their profile pictures. But those methods have been known to be easily hacked or spoofed by people seeking to create fake profiles in order to harass people or spread misinformation.
Twitter has paused all official label accounts, including those belonging to world leaders, celebrities and other prominent figures. Twitter has been one of the most entertaining platforms since Elon Musk came on board. It is a platform where people can share their thoughts, opinions, and jokes with the world. It is also a place where people can have conversations with others who share similar interests.
The move comes as the social network continues to clean up its platform after a series of high-profile hacks and impersonations.
"We are taking a broader view of abuse on Twitter," said Jason Toff of Twitter's user safety team in an interview with Business Insider. "In addition to suspending individual accounts that violate our rules, we have paused all official account labels (including verified) for the next few days."
This means that people who follow official account labels like @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS will see their timelines filled with spam or suspicious content from now until Monday morning.
Toff said that this pause will allow them to focus on more important issues like harassment, misinformation, hate speech and election interference while they work on new tools for detecting abuse. Twitter has paused the official label on accounts that are impersonating other users, a company spokesperson told The Verge. The move follows reports that fake Twitter accounts have been impersonating high-profile users like President Donald Trump and Democratic 2020 candidates Oprah Winfrey and Elizabeth Warren.
In an email to The Verge, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the company is suspending impersonator accounts, including those of Warren and Winfrey.
Earlier this week, Twitter announced it would be suspending impersonators in response to concerns about the use of bots by foreign actors to influence U.S. elections, according to Reuters. Elon Musk came up with a tweet that was really interesting. He tweeted about a “verbal agreement” with Tesla board to take the company private at $420 per share.
The tweet set off a firestorm of confusion and speculation on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, as investors tried to figure out what he meant and whether it was actually possible for him to do this
The new policy also appears to address concerns about how impersonators disrupt democratic discourse on Twitter by spreading false information or promoting hate speech. Elon Musk has a huge impact on changing Twitter. He has been tweeting his thoughts, his company's achievements and other things he finds interesting. His tweets have been the source of inspiration for many people. Twitter is now a platform for the world to speak freely. It has been a place for people to share their thoughts and ideas. It has been a place where people can express themselves without having to worry about the consequences of what they say.
