Twitter on Tuesday, 26 November, released plans for its new policy on how people are “verified” on the platform. The “blue check-mark” policy has been long promised by the company and has received criticism over its authenticity for verifying accounts, reported Reuters.
The social media company said in a blog post that it plans to relaunch its verification program, including a new public application process, in early 2021. It said a public feedback period for the new policy would open on Tuesday and run until 8 December.
Twitter generally verifies accounts of people of "public interest" such as celebrities, journalists, politicians, among others. The micro-blogging platform suspended public submissions for verification in 2017 after hearing feedback that the program felt “arbitrary and confusing to many people.”
The company has also stated that it may verify accounts that meet other standards such as being one of the top-followed accounts in the user's country and having "off-Twitter notability," which could be assessed through Google search trends, Wikipedia references or coverage by news outlets.
The company added in the blog post that it may cut the blue badge from accounts that severely or repeatedly violate rules, such as its policies on hateful conduct, civic integrity or glorification of violence. However, these removals will not be automatic and would be assessed case by case.
According to the report, Twitter aims to introduce the final policy on 17 December. It also indicated plans for more ways for users to identify themselves with new account types and labels.
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