Twitter admits to censoring "obscene" hashtags

 

tweetsmarter has an interesting blogpost talking about Twitter's censorship and suspension policies, picking up on a tweet from a Twitter team member admitting they censor hashtags containing obscenities (most prominently, #FuckYouWashington, which practically exploded a few days ago, but was never seen on the trending list).

More troubling is the note that the Twitter team is considering censoring more hashtags that it considers "offensive." Case in point, many have noted that #ReasonsToBeatYourGirlfriend was on the trending list, but #FuckYouWashington was censored.

The issue, as tweetsmarter smartly tweets, is that Twitter doesn't publicize its censorship policies regarding hashtags. It would be a different matter entirely if it were part of the terms of service or, heaven forbid, a blogpost discussing hashtags they consider offensive and would want to remove.

What's especially odious is twitter's otherwise good record of sticking up for the freedom of speech, from moving to block a DOJ inquiry into Wikileaks supporters to delaying maintenance to allow Iranians to keep tweeting during their election protests. That they should develop any official censorship or "message prioritizing" policy would be objectionable indeed.