Twitter To Relaunch Twitter Blue, Apple Users Will Pay More; Policy On Handling Hate Speech Unveiled

The much-hyped Twitter subscription service Twitter Blue will be relaunched on Monday. 

Last month, Twitter initially launched the Blue verification for for $8 per month, but the service was paused after the platform was flooded with verified trolls.

Twitter’s official account announced the relaunch on Saturday. The company said that people could subscribe to the revamped service by paying $8 per month through the web or a higher price of $11 per month through Apple Inc AAPL iOS. 

we’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark pic.twitter.com/DvvsLoSO50

— Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022

To avoid the problems Twitter saw during the last month’s launch, the company said it has implemented specific new measures. 

Twitter product manager Esther Crawford tweeted that the company has included a review step before applying a blue checkmark. 

On Monday we are bringing back the ability to subscribe to @TwitterBlue — it’ll be $8/mo on the web and $11/mo on iOS. We’ve added a review step before applying a blue checkmark to an account as one of our new steps to combat impersonation (which is against the Twitter Rules).

— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) December 10, 2022

Additionally, people who want to display a blue checkmark on their profile must register with a phone number after subscribing to the service. 

Subscribers can change their handle, display name, and profile photo after obtaining verified status, but the company will temporarily take away their blue checkmark while it reviews their account again. 

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Twitter will also introduce the ability to post longer videos and see fewer ads on feeds. In addition, subscribers with Blue verification can edit their tweets and upload 1080p videos.       

The company also mentioned that the second “official” label would soon be replaced by a gold checkmark for business and a grey checkmark for government and “multilateral” accounts.

“Thanks for your patience as we’ve worked to make Blue better – we’re excited and looking forward to sharing more with you soon!” the company said in a tweet.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to the announcement and said additional features are coming. 

And many other features to come!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2022

Twitter On Censoring Hate Speech

On Saturday, the company also announced the new rules to handle hateful speech on its platform. 

Twitter Safety’s official account said, “People will still see slur words in Tweets when they follow an account that uses them. However, we will not amplify Tweets containing slurs or hate speech, and we will not serve ads adjacent to those Tweets.”

People will still see slur words in Tweets when they follow an account that uses them. However, we will not amplify Tweets containing slurs or hate speech, and we will not serve ads adjacent to those Tweets.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) December 10, 2022

“Context matters and not all occurrences of slur words are used in a hateful way,” the official posted. “Slur words may be used in counter speech, reclaimed phrases, and song lyrics, for example.”

Twitter Safety’s official account also posted details on how Twitter keeps daily tabs on using English-language slur words. 

We track all uses of slurs, not just the ones that are used in a hateful manner. However, the raw data alone doesn’t tell the full story. The following chart shows impressions on all English-language Tweets that contained a slur: pic.twitter.com/EKbuhV9alo

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) December 10, 2022

It mentioned that there has been “a consistent downward trend in true hateful language impressions” on the platform since October, when Musk completed the purchase of the company.

By removing viral Tweets from our data set (ten in total, none of which violated our policies), we see a very different picture: a consistent downward trend in true hateful language impressions. pic.twitter.com/E9S3radJ6z

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) December 10, 2022

“We have more work to do. We are working to introduce in-app transparency when we limit the reach of a Tweet, and will also give users the ability to tell us when they think we made a mistake,” the account added.

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