Twitter launches new verification policy on January 20

Twitter’s revised verification policy is launch on January 20, 2021, after Twitter took a hiatus from the formal application process for more than three years. the New policy was refined with the contribution of tens of thousands of user responses after Twitter confirmed in November that it would relaunch the verification next year.

This January date is not the date for relaunching the official application process, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer if you feel like trying to get a blue tick. Applications will open at some point in “early 2021,” a Twitter spokesperson said. The edge. But Jan. 20 is when the new policy takes effect and when the company announces that it will begin removing verification badges for inactive accounts and those that don’t meet its new requirements.

Some of the new changes to its verification policy include more lax profile information requirements to be eligible for verification, more specific and defined categories for verification badges, and new guidelines regarding when an account verified. may lose its blue check mark if it is inactive or if found in violation of Twitter policies.

The new categories will include government officials – which Twitter has already checked on a case-by-case basis since it suspended the formal process – and businesses, brands and nonprofits. It will also include media and journalists, entertainment personalities and organizations, sports-related accounts and a broad category of “activists, organizers and other influential people”. Twitter says it is ready to expand its list of categories over time.

At some point next year, Twitter plans to introduce a way to tag accounts that are automated or formerly owned by a deceased person. “We do not plan to automatically remove the verified badge from inactive accounts of people who no longer live, and we are working to create a way to commemorate these accounts in 2021,” the Twitter blog read.

Twitter claims that “this will also come with an updated policy for commemoration and a new app feed to request commemoration of an account,” while automated accounts will at some point in the future be differentiated from accounts. managed by humans “to make it easier for people to know what a robot is and what isn’t.” Twitter is not yet revealing what these labels will look like or how proactively it will enforce its requirement to label on robot accounts.

For accounts managed by humans, the company says that as long as the account holder makes changes by January 20 to bring the account into compliance with their new verification requirements, there is no risk of losing an existing badge. . These include making sure an account has a verified email address or phone number, profile picture, and display name. The company also plans to inform people who may lose their badge what they need to change to keep it before taking action.

Twitter reserves the right to remove verification. “Under our policy, we may also remove verification from accounts that are in serious or repeated violation of Twitter’s policies. We will continue to assess these accounts on a case-by-case basis and will make improvements in 2021 on the relationship between enforcement of our rules and verification, ”the blog continued. As always, everyone on Twitter is subject to the Twitter rules, and you can read more about our range of enforcement here.

For users who wish to request verification, Twitter will launch a new in-app “self-service application process” in early 2021, which will allow applicants to select a category to verify and confirm their identity. Twitter says it will use both a human review and an automated system to browse requests.

Update December 17, 5:44 p.m. ET: Clarified that Twitter plans to launch its verification request process at some point in early 2021 and that January 20 is the date the new policy goes into effect.