Twitter release draft of its new verification policy
Twitter inviting users to give feedback on the new policy
Twitter will start removing verification badges from inactive accounts and more
Twitter is preparing to relaunch its public verification program after suspending the popular blue badge of honour back in 2017. At the time, the social media platform was widely criticised and the company paused all general verifications until further notice. As we head into 2021, the company has announced that it is preparing a new verification policy and plans to re-introduce the public verification process early next year.
“Three years ago, we paused our public verification program after hearing feedback that it felt arbitrary and confusing to many people. A year later, we deprioritized this work further to focus on protecting the integrity of the public conversation around critical moments like the 2020 US election. Since then, we haven’t been clear about who can become verified and when, why an account might be unverified, or what it means to be verified,” Twitter wrote on a blog post.
Twitter is calling its users to share feedback on the draft of its new verification policy that will define what it means to be verified on the platform, who all are eligible to receive the blue badge and can be seen as a crucial step by the company. Twitter’s new verification policy also defines why some accounts may lose their verification in case the account is inactive from a long time or the profile is incomplete. Furthermore, the company has also detailed guidelines in the draft to remove verification badges from accounts that are in repeated violation of Twitter rules.
We're planning to relaunch verification in 2021, but first we want to hear from you.
Help us shape our approach to verification on Twitter by letting us know what you think. Take a look at our draft policy and submit your #VerificationFeedback here: https://t.co/0vmrpVtXGJ
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 24, 2020
There has been a huge backlash in the past over Twitter’s verification process where it was found that many users had received verification badges even after having a single-digit follower count. It seems like Twitter is acknowledging that issues which is why it has called for a public discourse over the new verification process.
“We recognize that there are many verified accounts on Twitter who should not be. We plan to start by automatically removing badges from accounts that are inactive or have incomplete profiles to help streamline our work and to expand this to include additional types of accounts over the course of 2021,” the company said.
Twitter has also revealed that it is planning on releasing new account types and labels for accounts in order to give people more ways to distinguish themselves on the platform.
Who is eligible to be verified on Twitter?
Twitter has defined some criteria for the different types of Notable Accounts that are selected by Twitter for verification. As per the company’s policy, the account must be notable and active to get the blue verified badge.
The new draft of the policy identifies six types of accounts as Notable accounts and these include government, companies, brands and non-profit organizations, news, entertainment, sports, activists, organizers and other influential individuals.
Twitter has also listed the type of accounts it deems ineligible for getting the verification badge. These include parody, newsfeed, commentary, fan, pets, fictional characters accounts along with those engaged in violations of Twitter’s manipulation and spam policy and accounts of people or groups engaging in harmful activities, hateful content and more.
How to share feedback with Twitter on its new verification policy?
Twitter has shared a survey on its new draft of verification guidelines that users can fill until December 8. The company says it will release the final policy on December 17 and is expected to release the new public application process in early 2021.
Additionally, users can just tweet their feedback by using the hashtag ‘VerificationFeedback’.
You can read Twitter’s draft on new verification process here and can take part in the survey here.
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