Twitter, Instagram move to quash cyber harassment

Twitter has tripled the size of the team tasked with protecting its users from abuse and bullying. According to Twitter, this will reduce response time five-fold.

Part of the change is limiting anonymity on the site. Users will no longer be able to create anonymous accounts that would allow them to avoid repercussions from bullying.

Twitter’s general counsel Vijaya Gadde penned an op-ed for The Washington Post and noted the company failed to live up to its promise of protecting users in recent years.

“Freedom of expression means little as our underlying philosophy if we continue to allow voices to be silenced because they are afraid to speak up,” Gadde wrote. “We need to do a better job combating abuse without chilling or silencing speech.”