Twitter can’t win. It’s been like this for at least a year. Because now, they face a boycott from women’s groups like #WomenBoycottTwitter. This started when they suspended actor Rose McGowan’s twitter account, as she addressed the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal. But Twitter promises even more rules.
Twitter says they suspended McGowan’s account because the Scream and Charmed actress tweeted a phone number, which is a privacy violation. But many aren’t buying it. Some even call it a double standard. They say this because women and minority groups have been victimized by Twitter trolls for a long time. However, they did little about it. But when McGowan posted her controversial tweet, they suspended her account immediately.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey promises radical changes. He says Twitter will outlaw the following: hate symbols, violent groups and glorification, sexual advances, forced nudity. Oh, they will be more new rules next week. The response to this IT service mogul is mixed. Some applauded his stance. But others replied by saying, “Then ban President Trump”. Still, even others say all parties are playing victim. This isn’t new to Twitter. Between 2015 and 2016, they trolled actress Leslie Jones and rapper Iggy Azelea so bad that Jones and Azelea down their Twitter accounts altogether.
But some trolls don’t stop there. Some even used Twitter to go after celebrities’ kids. You can’t get much lower than to go after somebody’s child! It seems Twitter can’t win. I’m sure there will be free speech advocates who say Twitter is going to far. And I’m sure there are some on the other side who won’t come back to Twitter, no matter what. Twitter use is down across the board. And this will certainly shrink usage further. With all computer servicing industries, with freedom comes responsibility. But look at our society today. We’re more divided than we’ve been, well, in my lifetime (I was born in the late 1970s). It seems like everybody is mad at everybody for everything. Is this really about Twitter rules…or is this a reflection of 2017 America?