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How to report violations

The Twitter Trust & Safety team investigates and responds to reports of violations of the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service. This article provides an overview of how to report potential violations of the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service.

Required information for reporting policy violations

The information below outlines what you need to provide us so that we can properly investigate your report.

Note: When reporting potential violations of the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service using our support forms, you must confirm that you will allow us to share parts of your report with third parties, such as the affected user.

 

Impersonation of an individual or brand

When reporting impersonation of an individual or brand on Twitter, you will need to provide the following:

  • A copy of your government-issued ID (individuals)
  • Your company website (brands)
  • Your email address (please provide your company email address if reporting brand impersonation)
  • If you are not the individual or brand owner, you will be required to provide documentary evidence that you have authority to act on the person or brand owner's behalf (i.e., agent's agreement, power of attorney, etc.) via fax

To report impersonation of an individual or brand on Twitter, click here.

For more information about Twitter’s impersonation policy, click here.

For more information about reporting impersonation accounts on Twitter, click here.

 

Unauthorized trademark use

When reporting unauthorized use of your trademark on Twitter, you will need to provide the following:

  • Information about your trademark, including the trademarked word or symbol, registration number, and registration office
  • A direct link to the trademark record or a link to the registration office website
  • Your company email address
  • If you are not the trademark owner, you will be required to provide documentary evidence that you have authority to act on the trademark owner's behalf (i.e., agent's agreement, power of attorney, etc.) via fax

To report unauthorized use of your trademark on Twitter, click here.

For more information about Twitter’s trademark policy, click here.

 

Private information posted on Twitter

When reporting the unauthorized posting of private information on Twitter, please provide the following:

  • Links to Tweets that show your private information
  • Confirmation that the private information contained in the reported Tweets belongs to you
  • Confirmation that you have not posted the reported information elsewhere on the internet
  • Your email address

To report private information posted on Twitter, click here.

For more information about Twitter’s private information policy, click here.

For more information about reporting private information posted on Twitter, click here.

 

Abusive behavior and violent threats

When reporting abusive behavior on Twitter, please provide the following:

  • Description of problem, including length of time the abusive behavior has been happening
  • Tweet URLs (to find the exact link of a Tweet, please review this article)
  • Tweet text (copy and paste the text of the Tweet into the form)
  • Your email address

Please note: If you believe you may be in danger, please contact your local law enforcement authority in addition to reporting the content to Twitter so that the situation can also be addressed offline.

To report abusive behavior on Twitter, click here.

For more information about Twitter’s abusive behavior policy, click here.

For more information about reporting abusive behavior on Twitter, click here.

 

Unauthorized use of copyrighted materials

If you need to report the unauthorized use of your copyrighted material to Twitter, please provide a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice that includes all of the following information:

  • Title and description of the original work (If you are reporting multiple works, please provide a representative list of unauthorized titles being reported.)
  • Information to locate the allegedly unauthorized work(s) on Twitter
  • Contact information of the reporting party, including physical address, telephone number, and/or email address
  • Physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or person authorized to act on their behalf
  • Statement of good faith belief from the reporting party that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
  • Statement from the reporting party that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, they are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

To report unauthorized use of copyrighted materials on Twitter, click here.

For more information about Twitter’s copyright policy, click here.

 

Sale or promotion of counterfeit goods

Twitter prohibits the sale or promotion of sale of counterfeit goods on the Twitter platform. If you are concerned about an account in violation of Twitter’s counterfeit goods policy, please file a complaint.

For more information on Twitter’s counterfeit goods policy, click here.

 

Child sexual exploitation

We do not tolerate child sexual exploitation on Twitter. When we are made aware of links to images promoting child sexual exploitation they will be removed from Twitter without further notice and reported to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children ("NCMEC"). We permanently suspend accounts promoting or containing updates with links to child sexual exploitation.

If you encounter a Twitter account distributing or promoting child sexual exploitation, please click here to report it. Please provide the username and links to the relevant tweets that lead you to believe the account should be investigated. To find the URLs of individual Tweets, see our help page. (For a period of time, as we begin the transition to the new web form, you will still be able to report child sexual exploitation by sending an email to cp@twitter.com.)

NOTE: Please do NOT tweet, retweet or repost child sexual exploitation for any reason. Click here to report it to us immediately and we will take steps to remove it

For more information about Twitter’s child sexual exploitation policy, click here.

 

Pornography

Twitter removes obscene or pornographic images in user profile photos, header photos, and/or background images. We do not regulate content on external (non-Twitter) websites, nor do we regulate Tweets that link to content on external websites, including pornography.

To report obscene or pornographic images being used in user profile photos, header photos, and/or background images on Twitter, click here.

 

Spam and system abuse

The Twitter Rules describes what behaviors indicate spam. You can report spam directly from a user’s profile page; find out how on the Reporting Spam on Twitter help page.

If you are experiencing a spam or malware issue that’s impacting your use of Twitter, please file a support request.

 

How to flag media for violations

If there is content you feel should be reviewed by the Twitter team because you believe it should have a warning message, please follow these instructions to flag the media:

  1. Go to the bottom of the media.
  2. Click on the Flag this media button.

    For more information about flagging media on Twitter, click here.

    For more information about the Twitter media policy, click here.

    How to report individual Tweets for violations

    You can also report individual Tweets that are in violation of the Twitter Rules or our Terms of Service. This includes spam, harassment, impersonation, copyright, or trademark violations.

    1. Navigate to the Tweet you’d like to report.
    2. Tap the ••• icon to bring up the off-screen menu.
    3. Select Report Tweet and then one of the options.
    4. Select Submit (or Next if reporting abuse) or Cancel to complete the report or block the user.

    Note: This feature is currently only available on Twitter for iOS and mobile.twitter.com for smartphone browsers.

    For more information about reporting individual Tweets on Twitter, click here. 

    How to report minors on Twitter

    Our Services are not directed to persons under 13. If you become aware that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at privacy@twitter.com. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we take steps to remove such information and terminate the child's account. You can find additional resources for parents and teens here.

    How to find a Vine account ID

    When reporting explicit content on Vine, you may be asked to provide a Vine account ID. Here’s how.

    From the web:

    1. From the user’s profile, copy the Vine account ID from the URL. It should look like this: https://vine.co/u/[VINEID] or https://vine.co/[VINEID].

    From an iOS device:

    1. From the user’s profile, tap on the three dots in the upper right hand corner.
    2. Tap Share this profile.
    3. Copy the Vine ID contained in the URL provided. It should look like this: vine://user/[VINEID].

    From an Android device:

    1. From the user’s profile, tap on the three dots in the upper right hand corner or the Menu button.
    2. Tap Share profile and provide a destination.
    3. Copy the Vine ID contained in the URL provided. It should look like this: vine://user/[VINEID].

    How to find a link to a Vine post

    When reporting explicit content on Vine, you may be asked to provide the link to a Vine post. Here’s how.

    From the web:

    1. From the Vine post, click on the three dots located in the lower right hand corner.
    2. Click on View post page.
    3. Copy the URL. It should look like this: https://vine.co/v/....

    From an iOS device:

    1. From the Vine post, tap the Share icon.
    2. Tap More options.
    3. Tap Copy link. It should look like this: https://vine.co/v/....

    From an Android device:

    1. From the Vine post, tap the Share icon.
    2. Tap Share to and provide a destination.
    3. Copy the URL provided. It should look like this: https://vine.co/v/....

    How to report Twitter Ads

    Twitter Ads are Twitter's paid advertising products. They are Tweets, Trends, and accounts marked with a yellow or purple badge. Twitter's content policies also apply to ads. We also provide a set of Twitter Ads Policies that describe rules and responsibilities specific to paid advertising.

    For information on how to recognize Twitter Ads and the steps you can take to resolve issues without filing a report, click here.

    To report a Twitter Ad that may be in violation of our policies, click here.

    How to appeal account suspension

    For more information on how to tell if your account has been suspended, and how to appeal an account suspension, click here.