Twitter has set guidelines to ensure that exchanges within its network stay safe and productive for all users -- if you don't follow, you get blocked.
Recently, the micro-blogging company blocked Besseres Hannover, an identified neo-Nazi group that created the account
@hannoverticker.
This would be a pioneering act by the website to prevent access to specific countries and users.
Twitter's ability to effect country-specific blocking was unveiled early this year.
According to Twitter chief attorney Alex Macgillivray (
@amac), Twitter does not intend to block content, although it would be very helpful to have the proper and specific tools that would allow the company to do so just in case the need arises.
Primary information about the existence of the neo-Nazi account in Germany came from a police letter originating from Hanover, Germany and directed to Twitter on September 25.
The handle of the account was @hannoverticker. The request came after the group was banned by the Interior Ministry of Lower-Saxony.
The police letter said: ?It is disbanded, its assets are seized and all its accounts in social networks have to be closed immediately.?
The group added: ?It is the task of the Polizeidirektion Hannover to enforce the ban.?
The country-specific blocking ability allowed Twitter to stop tweets that violated the restrictions and rules of countries on speech. Twitter then has the ability to stop and ban content if these are violating the rules and laws in specific countries like France and Germany.
The content, however, will remain available in countries that do not have such laws and restrictions. The account of Besseres Hannover is still live in the United States, although it is already blocked in Germany.
Some Twitter users showed concern that the website might easily succumb to requests made even by abusive governments in certain countries.
Dick Costolo (
@dickc), CEO of Twitter, however, indicated that the new rule would let the company thoroughly investigate matters first before blocking content or specific accounts. Whenever content is withheld, Twitter users will be given the reason for the blockage.
