Twitter to label 'Bot accounts' under 2021 public verification program to avoid confusion

Twitter Inc on December 17 announced that it is working to label the automated accounts or ‘bots' which will help the users distinguish the automatically operated accounts on the platform from the human accounts. In a blog post, the tech giant informed that it is planning to introduce a series of changes under its public verification program that it will revive in 2021 for future improvement and ease of usability. 

According to Twitter’s new verification policy, the company will permanently remove the accounts with severe or repeated violation of the Twitter Rules, and it will label the bot accounts. Twitter, however, will not completely remove Bot accounts as they “bring a lot of value to the service when they share important updates such as the earthquake reports or self-care reminders." However, the social media giant emphasised that indeed these accounts can be “confusing to people if it's not clear that these accounts are automated.”

Further in its update, the company informed that it will create a new "memorialized account" in 2021 for those accounts which are operated by someone else in the loving memory of those who have passed away. “We know how important it is to preserve a Twitter account in memory of someone who has passed and we’ve talked about building Memorial Accounts before," the company said in the release. 

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To maintain transparency

According to Twitter, the new verifications are aimed at giving more clarity to the users about the interaction on the platform. While engaging with human accounts, one is able to get insight into the Twitter bios, Tweet content, mutual follows, and profile information, however, the bot accounts might not list that information. And therefore, the firm said, it is working on “new ways to designate different account types,” adding that it will help users understand who they’re interacting with on Twitter.

Earlier, the microblogging site had informed its users about the restoration of the ‘retweet’ feature. The platform had imposed restrictions on the retweet option and allowed the users to only “quote tweet” in order to combat disinformation and unverified claims ahead of the US election. The restrictions were applied across all accounts "that obtained significant engagement.”

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