Twitter tests notification banner for suspended and locked accounts

It's difficult to miss the new notices.

Dado Ruvic / reuters

Twitter is testing a new way to inform individuals who may have broken its rules that their account has been suspended or locked. With the start of this latest test, a small group of users will see a banner appear at the top of their timeline informing them that they can’t tweet, retweet or like content due to their previous behavior on the platform. In the instance of a locked account, the notice currently says most users regain access within a week. Meanwhile, with permanent suspensions, the banner points the individual to the company’s appeal process.

A spokesperson for Twitter told The Verge the notices come in response to feedback the company has received from people who said they only realized their account was inaccessible after they tried to tweet or follow new accounts. Should Twitter decide to implement the banners, they could get a lot of work. In the second half of 2020, the company removed more abusive content than ever before on the back of more effective automated moderation tools and policies against hate speech.