Twitter boss apologises to women over abuse

Tony Wang said the threats they received were “simply not acceptable” and pledged to do more to tackle abusive behaviour.

In a series of tweets, Mr Wang said: “I personally apologize to the women who have experienced abuse on Twitter and for what they have gone through.

“The abuse they’ve received is simply not acceptable. It’s not acceptable in the real world, and it’s not acceptable on Twitter.”

The apology came as the company updated its rules to clamp down on harassment and make it easier to report abuse.

Police are investigating allegations by eight people of abuse or threatening behaviour on the site.

I personally apologize to the women who have experienced abuse on Twitter and for what they have gone through.

— Tony Wang (@TonyW) August 3, 2013

The abuse they’ve received is simply not acceptable. It’s not acceptable in the real world, and it’s not acceptable on Twitter.

— Tony Wang (@TonyW) August 3, 2013

The revelations sparked a backlash online, with a petition calling for Twitter to add a “report abuse” button to tweets attracting more than 120,000 signatures.

In separate incidents, Labour MP Stella Creasy and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully fought for a woman’s face to appear on £10 banknotes, were threatened on Twitter with rape.

Two arrests have already been made in relation to those threats.

In a statement, Scotland Yard said an investigation into eight allegations had been launched into all the claims.

The force said: “Detectives from the Specialist Organised & Economic Crime Command have taken responsibility for the investigations into a number of allegations recently made to the MPS relating to allegations of malicious communication made on the social networking site Twitter.

“The Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), who hold the police national cyber crime remit, is now investigating allegations made by eight people that they have been subject to harassment, malicious communication or bomb threats.

“Whilst outside PCeU’s cyber operational remit, the MPS has taken the decision to centralise the individual investigations, including three that are outside London, to make the most effective use of resources avoid duplication by separate.”