Twitter on Tuesday announced it would restart its verification process — which grants its patented blue checkmark to public figures and other “influential individuals,” as the company put it — in early 2021.
The announcement comes three years after Twitter “paused” its verification process. Now, the company said it’s looking to “revamp” how it hands out blue checkmarks — and it’s looking for user feedback on how its updated system should work. Twitter, in its blog post on the decision, shared a link to a survey that it said would help craft its new verification process.
Twitter also said it’ll be looking to strip certain accounts of their blue checkmarks as it refocuses on who is and isn’t verified. Accounts that are inactive or have an “incomplete” profile, as well as accounts that repeatedly violate the company’s rules, could have their verification checkmarks removed.
“We recognize that there are many verified accounts on Twitter who should not be,” Twitter said in a blog post. “We plan to start by automatically removing badges from accounts that are inactive or have incomplete profiles to help streamline our work and to expand this to include additional types of accounts over the course of 2021.”
Twitter outlined six types of “notable accounts” that qualify for blue checkmarks. Those include accounts connected to:
- government
- companies, brands and non-profit organizations
- news
- entertainment
- sports
- activists, organizers and other influential individuals
“We’re committed to serving the public conversation by helping people find credible information, hear important voices, and trust the authenticity of the accounts people find on Twitter,” the blog post added.
The company said it’ll be taking public feedback on its new verification process through December 8. Twitter plans on sharing its revamped policy on December 17.