Categories: MarketingSocialMedia

Twitter ‘Pauses’ Massive Account Cull After Outcry

Twitter has announced it will “pause” its plans to remove millions of inactive accounts following a user backlash against the move.

The micro-blogging platform had announced on Monday a deadline of 11 December for inactive users to log into their Twitter accounts and agree to the updated privacy policies.

The micro-blogging platforms warned that after that date, it would begin deleting accounts that have been inactive for more than six months.

Paused cull

Inactive accounts that could be culled include those of people who have died, and the number of accounts to culled was expected to be in the millions.

But now Twitter has said it will “pause” plans to disable inactive accounts following user backlash, and would not remove accounts until it had a process for “memorialising” dead users on the network – like Facebook and others have.

Twitter announced the pause in a series of tweets on the matter.

“We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased,” Twitter tweeted. “This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.”

It said that its plans to cull accounts would have only applied to the EU, and that it has always had an inactive account policy, but it hasn’t enforced it consistently. It was starting it said with inactive EU accounts partly because of GDPR.

“Beyond complying with GDPR, we may broaden the enforcement of our inactivity policy in the future to comply with other regulations around the world and to ensure the integrity of the service,” said Twitter. “We will communicate with all of you if we do.”

“We apologise for the confusion and concerns we caused and will keep you posted,” it concluded.

This month Twitter began banning all political advertising worldwide, because CEO Jack Dorsey said that “political message reach should be earned, not bought.”

How well do you know Twitter? Try our quiz!

Tom Jowitt

Tom Jowitt is a leading British tech freelancer and long standing contributor to Silicon UK. He is also a bit of a Lord of the Rings nut...

Recent Posts

The Sustainability of AI

While AI promises unparalleled efficiency, productivity, and innovation, questions regarding its environmental impact loom large.…

29 mins ago

Trump’s Truth Social Makes Successful Market Debut

Shares in Donald Trump’s social media company rose about 16 percent after first day of…

50 mins ago

Dutch PM Raises Cyber Espionage Case With China’s Xi

Beijing visit sees Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte discuss cyber espionage incident with Chinese President…

2 hours ago

Vodafone Germany Confirms 2,000 Job Losses, Amid European Restructuring

More downsizing at Vodafone after German operation announces 2,000 jobs will be axed, as automation…

18 hours ago

AI Poses ‘Jobs Apocalypse’, Warns Report

IPPR report warns AI could remove almost 8 million jobs in the United Kingdom, with…

19 hours ago

Europe’s Longest Hyperloop Test Track Opens

European Hyperloop Center in the Netherlands seeks to advance futuristic transport technology, despite US setbacks

20 hours ago