Twitter to Limit the Spread of Politicians' Abusive Tweets

Just in time for election season, Twitter has changed the rules for politicians. Tweets containing "controversial content or behavior which may otherwise violate our rules" will be hidden behind a warning label, Fortune reports. The label will say that the tweet goes against Twitter's guidelines about abusive behavior, but has been left up because it holds "legitimate public interest." Users can read the tweet if they click past the warning, but it won't show up in the explore tab or search. Software will be used to limit the spread of such content on Twitter, as well.

The company said that the change wasn't caused by any one person's tweets, but Fortune notes that President Trump has posted tweets that would gain other users a suspension. No politician will be above Twitter law, assuming they have a following: The rule will apply to verified government officials and political candidates, and even people being considered for a government position, who have more than 100,000 followers. The change won't apply to tweets posted before Thursday, per CNET. Trump has accused social media companies of being biased against conservatives, but he and his aides made no immediate comment about the change. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told Congress last year that "Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions," NPR notes. (More Twitter stories.)