By Leah Montebello
As the Elon Musk takeover remains up in the air, Twitter is reportedly weighing up policy changes that could mean permanent bans on disruptive users are scrapped.
The social media firm has been assessing content moderation tools for a while now, and sources told the Financial Times that this may entail axing its harshest penalty, which was famously applied to former US President Donald Trump.
The sources said the bans were unlikely to spell a return of Trump, with breaches involving the incitement of violence not under consideration.
According to Twitter’s website, permanent suspensions of accounts are applied when users have broken rules “in a particularly egregious way” or “repeatedly violated them even after receiving notifications from us”.
However, the potential move away from permanent bans would put Twitter’s policies in greater harmony with Musk’s vision for Twitter.
The Tesla founder previously criticised the decision by Twitter.
“I think that was a mistake, because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said back in May, adding that he would welcome the long-time outcast back if he had his way.
A Delaware judge said last week that agreed to stay the legal action between Musk and the Silicon Valley giant until November, allowing both sides to reach a resolution.
It is unclear whether the dispute will be resolved, or if a trial will go ahead surrounding terms of the takeover.
A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement: “We’re always examining the rules that govern our service and the tools and features that can encourage healthy conversation. As part of this work, over the last several years, we have significantly expanded our range of enforcement options and product features to be more responsive and proportionate to the potential for harm.”
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