DNA Explainer: When and under what circumstances does Twitter lock accounts?

Congress is at loggerheads with Twitter after it temporarily suspended the account of its senior party leader Rahul Gandhi. To add to the woes, a day later Twitter locked the handles of five other senior party men, and even while India's oldest political party was crying foul, on Thursday Twitter gave a final blow by temporarily suspending the official handle of the Congress party.

Previously, Twitter has permanently suspended the account of former US President Donald Trump for his tweets after the US Capitol riots. And back home Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut's account was 'permanently suspended' after she tweeted about the post-poll violence in Bengal. 

There is no doubt that the outrage of the rape, murder &hasty cremation of a 9-yr-old Dalit girl shocked the nation’s conscience. It demands expeditious action, not against @RahulGandhi for a technical violation of law, but against those who were complicit in this human tragedy.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 12, 2021

So here we try to understand in what circumstances Twitter 'permanently suspends' or 'temporarily suspends' an account.

When Twitter 'permanently suspends' an account?

According to Twitter's policy page, this is the company's 'most severe enforcement action'.

Not only is the account removed from the global view, but the violator is also not 'allowed to create a new account'.

Before permanently suspending an account Twitter notifies the user about the abuse violations. 

They also explain which particular policy or policies they have violated and which content was in violation.

Twitter does let violators appeal 'permanent suspensions' given it is the harshest punishment.

Those whose accounts have been impacted can file an appeal through the platform interface or by filing a report.

If the suspension is found valid then Twitter will respond with information on the policy that the account has violated.

When Twitter 'temporarily suspends' an account?

Twitter may suspend an account if it has been reported to them as violating Twitter rules surrounding abuse.

When an account engages in abusive behavior, like sending threats to others or impersonating other accounts, it may be suspended temporarily.

If an account violates sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Both the laws mandate the identity of the victim shall not be disclosed, as in the case of Rahul Gandhi where he shared a pic with the parents of a rape victim. 

The duration of this enforcement action can range from 12 hours to 7 days, depending on the nature of the violation.

During the temporary suspension, the person can read their timelines and will only be able to send Direct Messages to their followers. 

When an account is in read-only mode, others will still be able to see and engage with the account. 

When notice is added to a tweet

When a tweet violates rules but is believed to have a legitimate public interest in its availability, Twitter limits engagement with the tweet and adds a notice.

In such circumstances, Twitter does not allow replies, retweets, and likes on that particular tweet and the account. 

If a tweet was found to be in violation of Twitter rules and has yet to be deleted by the person who tweeted it, then it will be hidden behind a notice.

In such a case the account will remain locked until the tweet is removed by the user.

Labeling a tweet

If a tweet contains misleading or disputed information that could lead to harm, Twitter may add a label to the content to provide context.

For Tweets containing media determined to have been significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated, it may add a 'Manipulated media' label.  

Tapping these labels may link to a Twitter Moment or other trusted source to provide additional information.