Technology

The problem with Twitter’s abuse report form: you have to agree to passing information to your abuser

There’s a rather unfortunate, to put it kindly, tick box waiting for you if you try to report abusive tweets to Twitter via its official online form at https://support.twitter.com/forms/abusiveuser.

Here’s the tick box that comes up near the end of the process:

Twitter abuse report form

Requiring you to agree that all the information you have provided (which, in detailing the background to your complaint, may need to include personal information) can be passed on to the person you have complained about is an approach stuffed full of problems.

All the more so when the form goes on to require your full name and email address (i.e. giving your full identity and contact details) – which, although below the tick box, are not accompanied by any disclaimer about them not also being liable to be passed on.

So if you’re on Twitter without having made public exactly who you are and you want to report, say, threats of violence against yourself, Twitter seems to be saying ‘you must agree that we can tell your abuser who you are and how to contact you’.

Not good, Twitter.

UPDATE: A welcome and speedy response from Twitter –

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