Twitter To Roll Out Anti-Harassment "Fixes" This Week

"This week, we'll tackle long overdue fixes to mute/block and stopping repeat offenders from creating new accounts," says Twitter Engineering VP Ed Ho.

Key changes are coming to Twitter this week as the company attempts to address its long-running harassment and abuse problem.

In a tweetstorm posted late Monday, Twitter VP of Engineering Ed Ho conceded that Twitter didn't move fast enough to tackle harassment last year, and said a number of product changes are coming "in the days ahead" to address it.

Among the fixes Twitter plans to implement: one that prevents repeat offenders from creating new accounts. Ho did not explain the solution Twitter has in mind. But some observers have recommended the company tie accounts to phone numbers, giving it a way to more easily police trolls who bypass its rules.

Twitter is expected to report its earnings for the final quarter of 2016 next week. Harassment, which was a regular issue on its calls with analysts last year, could be a theme once again.

Here's Ho's full tweetstorm:

We heard you, we didn't move fast enough last year; now we're thinking about progress in days and hours not weeks and months.

We’ll be rolling out a number of product changes in the days ahead. Some changes will be visible and some will be less so.

This week, we'll tackle long overdue fixes to mute/block and stopping repeat offenders from creating new accounts.

As we we roll out these changes, and other features that are new, we’ll keep you updated. We want your feedback and we are listening.


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