Twitter says it is making progress on abuse problem but there is still much left to be done

'There's no easy fix' to make people safe on the platform, Twitter admits

The lack of growth in user numbers has plunged the social network into crisis in recent months (AFP/Getty Images)

Twitter says that its users are being abused much less than they were six months ago.

The company has made the claim as it shared the results of new efforts to make the platform a more safe place to be.

The site has often been criticised for adding cosmetic new features without paying attention to the various ways that it enables and allows abuse.

It says that new efforts to cut down on that abuse has led to positive results, and it has become much better at filtering them out.

After that work it says it is shutting down ten times the accounts that it did this time last year. And it is getting better at spotting abuse quickly and cutting off the ways that people can get around its safeguards.

But the site admits there is "still much work to be done".

Since the start of the year, Twitter has announced several updates to its platform designed to cut down on abusive content, including reducing notifications and increasing filters on "low quality tweets" that appear in user timelines.

The social platform has been repeatedly criticised by industry figures and government over its record of handling abusive material that appears on the site, and has pledged to work with independent experts to cut down on extremism online.

Twitter's Ed Ho said in the last four months, the site had removed double the number of abusive accounts created by users who had previously had other accounts suspended for violations of site rules.

"Beyond the technology, our teams are continuing to review content daily and improve how we enforce our policies," Mr Ho said.

He also revealed that communicating with violators on why their accounts had been temporarily suspended has led to a reduction in future abuse incidents.

Mr Ho added: "Communication about problematic Tweets, especially to the people who send them, is key.

"Accounts that demonstrate abusive behaviour are now limited for a time, and told why. Accounts that we put into this period of limited functionality generate 25% fewer abuse reports, and approximately 65% of these accounts are in this state just once."

He said Twitter would continue to seek the advice of industry experts and academics as part of ongoing review of its services, having convened its first "Trust and Safety Council" earlier this year, seeking feedback on its performance.

Dan Raisbeck, co-founder of The Cybersmile Foundation said continued dialogue between Twitter and other organisations would improve safety on the site and the wider internet.

He added: "We are pleased to see Twitter continuing to meet the challenges of user safety and will continue our work with the Twitter Safety Team in addressing these important issues.

"We are confident that through working with industries, governments and Internet users around the world we can all help to make the internet safer for everyone."

Twitter's head of trust and safety, Del Harvey, said: "There's no easy fix - as the world's conversation evolves so too does the challenge we face.

"We'll continue to adapt and do our part to ensure Twitter continues to be the safest place to see every side of what's happening."

Additional reporting by agencies