Twitter gives neo-Nazis and extremists a deadline to quit hate groups or risk being barred

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Twitter has announced it will be monitoring its users’ behaviour “on and off” the social media platform, in a bid to tackle hate speech.

Anyone affiliated with extremist organisations will be suspended according to the new policy, which will come into force on 18 December.

The new rules state: “You also may not affiliate with organisations that - whether by their own statements or activity both on and off the platform - use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes.”

Twitter users will also be banned from using “hateful images or symbols” in their profile images of headers.

“You also may not use your username, display name, or profile bio to engage in abusive behaviour, such as targeted harassment or expressing hate towards a person, group, or protected category,” the rules state.

“You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so. We consider abusive behaviour an attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence someone else’s voice.

“You may not direct abuse at someone by sending unwanted sexual content, objectifying them in a sexually explicit manner, or otherwise engaging in sexual misconduct.”

User who fail to adhere to the policy may have their account temporarily or permanently suspended, or may be forced to delete abusive content before being able to interact with other Twitter users.

Earlier this week, Twitter stripped the blue verification tick from several high-profile far-right accounts, after criticism it was not doing enough to tackle hate speech.

The change affected several high-profile figures, including English Defence League co-founder Tommy Robinson and white nationalist Richard Spencer.