Twitter makes it easier to report threats to the police
While Twitter has already simplified reporting abusive tweets, that's not enough if you're facing a very serious threat -- you want something that the police can use to get an arrest or restraining order. Thankfully, Twitter has delivered something that might help. A new email option lets you send yourself a copy of a threat report that you can take to law enforcement. While it only provides a basic summary of what happened, it both serves as an official record and helps officers understand what to do if they need private account information to make a bust.
The move shows that Twitter is following up on its promise to fight harassment, although there are still factors that haven't been addressed. Victims sometimes face sustained abuse leading up to a threat, but you wouldn't know it from the emailed report -- it doesn't show previous interactions, the content that prompted the threat or other elements that would help cops connect the dots. If you're in the unfortunate position of facing credible threats on Twitter, you'll still have to do a lot of the evidence gathering yourself.
