Twitter is letting users share their block lists

10 Jun 2015

In a fresh attempt to empower users in the war against abhorrent internet trolls, Twitter is making it possible for you to share lists of accounts you’ve blocked with other people.

This new feature is designed to make blocking multiple accounts quicker and more community-driven than previously possible. You can now import and export your blocked lists, meaning abusive trolls can be censored in bulk with the help of others.

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To export or import a list, users can select their blocked accounts settings, click on the advanced options dropdown menu and choose the action they wish to take. The tool allows users to review the list before they export it as a .CSV file that can then be sent to others.

twitter-export-list

Twitter has often been criticised for its lack of action when dealing with abusive users. In February, CEO Dick Costolo admitted he was “ashamed” at how ineffective it has been at tackling harassment. “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years,” he said. “It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.

“I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd. There’s no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It’s nobody else’s fault but mine, and it’s embarrassing.”

The social network has been far more aggressive in recent months in the fight against online abuse. New safety features were introduced in February to help tackle impersonation, self-harm and the sharing of private and confidential information, while in March, a new feature was added that makes it easier for users to report abusive and threatening tweets to the police.

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

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