Twitter has suspended more than 125,000 accounts for promoting terrorism related to ISIS since the middle of 2015, the social-media firm announced Friday.
The news comes as Obama administration officials have appealed to tech companies such as Twitter to help counter violent extremism online. The company has also been under pressure from groups that track Islamist militant activity on the Internet to do more to remove ISIS propaganda from its platforms.
"Like most people around the world, we are horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by extremist groups," Twitter said in a blog post tweeted from its account. "We condemn the use of Twitter to promote terrorism."
The firm said its rules make clear that such behavior, or any violent threat, is not permitted on its platform.
Twitter, which positions itself as a defender of speech rights, said that "we have always sought to strike a balance between the enforcement of our own Twitter Rules covering prohibited behaviors, the legitimate needs of law enforcement, and the ability of users to share their views freely - including views that some people may disagree with or find offensive."
Seeking to rebut criticism that it has not done enough to counter extremism on its platform, Twitter noted it has increased the size of its teams that review reports of abuse and said that has reduced response time significantly.
Last month, the Florida widow of a military contractor killed in a Nov. 9 terrorist attack in Amman, Jordan, sued Twitter, alleging that it "knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS to use its social network as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits." The woman is seeking damages from Twitter for alleged violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Her civil suit was filed in federal court in Oakland, Calif.
Though national security lawyers say her case is unlikely to succeed, it has increased the pressure on social-media companies to remove posts linked to terrorism.
Twitter began mass suspensions of ISIS and other terrorism-related accounts in early 2014. It shut down 10,000 accounts in one 24-hour span alone last April.
Reuters
Mon Feb 08 2016
Twitter has suspended more than 125,000 accounts for promoting terrorism related to ISIS.
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