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11 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Twitter’s abuse problems could be largely solved with one change: phone number verification required to reply to people who don’t follow you. 1/
Replies are where the bulk of Twitter harassment happen, but if you’re banned for abuse, you just make a new email account, a new Twitter handle, and you go right back to trolling. 2/
Most everyone deserves a voice, but to those who follow them, not so they can barge into the mentions of strangers & public figures with zero accountability. 3/
Twitter & @Jack have been “thinking deeply” about how to fix abuse for years, but still rely on spotty algorithms + victims’ reports & privacy controls. It’s time to put the burden on the harassers. 4/
Forcing trolls to set up a new burner phone or Google Voice number to keep harassing would likely halt the vast majority of reply abuse. If Twitter is worried about “friction” it means it cares more about abusers’ ad views than victims’ safety. 5/
So Twitter, stop beard stroking. Block replies from users without a verified phone number or at least months of legit engagement. End the abuse. 6/
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Defaults matter. Twitter has safeguards, but many don’t know they exist, are buried in profile-> settings-> privacy-> notifications-> Advanced Filters and default to off. Again, this puts the onus on the innocent, not the guilty! 
What if users have multiple accounts but just one phone number? Twitter could let you link accounts to each other for reply access but suspend them all if one is guilty of abuse. 9/
What if someone doesn’t have a phone number? Let them get a verification code by snail mail. Privacy concerns about giving Twitter your phone #? It should only use it for verification, not friend finding, ad targeting, or searchability unless you opt in. 10/
A safe Twitter will grow larger than an abusive Twitter long-term. Make this the signal that it’s time for churned users to try Twitter again. Done right, safety is a growth hack! 11/11
