Enforcing our rules

With your help, Twitter can be a safe experience for everyone.

  • Our rules
  • Enforcement

Our rules

We are committed to creating a culture of trust, safety, and respect.

As an open and global platform, Twitter is home to a variety of people, perspectives, ideas, and information. That is why we focus on giving every voice the power to impact the world by helping people see every side of a story as it unfolds.

We have one set of rules for the hundreds of millions of people who use Twitter and the hundreds of millions of Tweets sent every day. To make Twitter a safer platform, The Twitter Rules incorporate the latest trends in online behaviour, consider different cultural and social contexts, and help set expectations around what’s allowed on the platform. We work with some of the leading online safety experts who serve on our global Trust and Safety Council for guidance and feedback on how to best present our policies to the world. Learn more about our policy development process.

 

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Abuse

You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone or encourage others to do so. We consider abusive behaviour as an attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence someone else’s voice.

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Intimate media

You may not post or share intimate photos or videos of someone that were produced or distributed without their consent. Read more about intimate media on Twitter.

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Hateful conduct

You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease. We will not permit any account to abuse or threaten others through their profile information, including their username, display name, or profile bio. If an account’s profile information includes a violent threat or multiple slurs, epithets, racist or sexist tropes, incites fear, or reduces someone to less than human, it will be permanently suspended.

Read more about our hateful conduct policy.

 

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Glorification of violence

Specific threats of violence or wishing for serious physical harm, death, or disease to an individual or group of people is in violation of our policies. We prohibit certain types of content that glorifies violence or the perpetrators of a violent act. This includes celebrating any violent act in a manner that may inspire others to replicate it or any violence where people were targeted because of their membership in a protected group. We will require offending Tweets to be removed and repeated violations will result in permanent suspension.

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Violent extremist groups

We also prohibit accounts that affiliate with organisations that use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes. Groups included in this policy will be those that identify as such or engage in activity — both on and off the platform — that promotes violence. This policy does not apply to military or government entities and we will consider exceptions for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution.  

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Spam

You may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of spamming anyone. Spam is generally defined on Twitter as bulk or aggressive activity that attempts to manipulate or disrupt Twitter or the experience of users on Twitter to drive traffic or attention to unrelated accounts, products, services, or initiatives.

Read more

 

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Suicide or self-harm

You may not promote or encourage suicide or self-harm. When we receive reports that a person is threatening suicide or self-harm, we may take a number of steps to assist them, such as reaching out to that person and providing resources such as contact information for our mental health partners. If you see Tweets indicating that someone might harm himself or herself, you can let us know by filing a report.

Read more

 

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Sensitive content

We consider sensitive content to be graphic violence, adult content, and hateful imagery under our media policy.  We consider graphic violence to be any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures. We consider adult content to be any media that is pornographic and/or may be intended to cause sexual arousal. We consider hateful imagery to be logos, symbols, or images whose purpose is to promote hostility and malice against others based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin. This type of content cannot be displayed in profile images or headers. Learn how to report profiles for violation.

 

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Impersonation

You may not portray another person in a confusing or deceptive manner in violation of the Twitter Rules. Such accounts may be permanently suspended. However, parody, newsfeed, commentary and fan accounts are allowed when clearly marked and meet the requirements of that policy.

Read more

 

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Private information

We don’t allow Tweets that disclose private information such as financial account details, unlisted street addresses, or Social Security or other national identity numbers. If publicly available information is being shared to harass or incite harassment, then we will take enforcement action under our abusive behaviour policy.

Read more

 

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If you’re in danger

 

If you feel you’re in physical danger or are seeing active abuse directed at you, here are three steps to take immediately.

First, contact local law enforcement right away.

Second, report the threat on Twitter. You can generate a printable report to share with law enforcement.

Finally, change your settings on Twitter:

 

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We’re here to help

When it comes to enforcement, we employ a range of options. If you think an account violates The Twitter Rules, file a report. Learn how to report violations.

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Enforcement

After you report

Our Terms of Service and the Twitter Rules outline the type of behaviour we expect on Twitter. Anyone may report content they believe breaks our rules. When we receive reports about potential violations, we investigate and take appropriate action.

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How we protect your account

We may lock an account or place temporary limitations on certain account features if an account appears to be compromised or is in violation of the Twitter Rules or Terms of Service. If you see a message that your account is locked or that some of your account features have been limited, follow these instructions.


How we investigate

When you submit a report, our global team is available 24/7 to review it. We consider a number of factors when reviewing reports such as the severity of the violation, if the account owner has a history of violating our policies, and if the content may be a topic of legitimate public interest. We may ask for additional information to help provide context when reviewing each situation. Here’s more detail on the factors we consider when determining whether or not we take enforcement action.

 

How we handle abusers

When responding to abuse violations, there are several actions we can take. These include basic measures, such as limiting Tweet visibility, requiring Tweet deletion or profile or media edits, and verifying account ownership. In some cases, we may permanently suspend an account. Read more about our range of enforcement options.

 

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We’re here to help

If you think an account violates The Twitter Rules, file a report.
Learn how to report violations.

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