Twitter announced Thursday that it will begin to restrict Tweets based on content in specific countries. Ranging from “pro-Nazi” to possibly gay-centric content, the social platform said on their official blog they would allow content to be censored depending on the country’s speech policies.
“As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression,” the blog said. “Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content…”
Twitter’s announcement has prompted concern for gay communities that reside in otherwise anti-gay countries.
“We are very concerned about this new development,” said Dan Littauer, Executive Editor for Gay Middle East . “Twitter has an enormous impact in spreading news and media, especially regarding Human Rights, including LGBT rights across the world and in particular the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).”
Twitter will replace censored content with a greyed-out bar, reading, “This tweet from @username has been withheld in: Country. Learn more.”
“Twitter has been essential, for example, in helping the Arab Spring protests and also spread of information regarding LGBT issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Users within the state where censorship is about to occur will not be able to co-ordinate protests or actions,” said Littauer. “…This means that if LGBT related tweets and users will be censored across some or all of the MENA countries it will make it so much harder to communicate and even know about censorship itself in that country. This is a very dangerous precedent.”
According to Pink News, “members of Gay Middle East questioned whether Twitter’s decision was related to the SOPA and PIPA initiatives as well as the recent acquisition of a stake in Twitter’s company by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.”
