Twitter Suspends 235,000 Accounts for Terror-Related Activity

This is not the first time Twitter has made such a move.

ByABC News
August 18, 2016, 1:40 PM

— -- Twitter said today that it has suspended 235,000 accounts in the last six months that promoted terror or violence.

The suspensions bring the total number of accounts that the company has suspended for similar activity to 360,000 since mid-2015, the company said.

Daily suspensions of accounts has increased by more than 80 percent since last year, Twitter said, and that “spikes” in suspensions have resulted from the wake of terrorist attacks around the globe.

Twitter has also gotten faster at suspending accounts that users have reported and is working to prevent users from returning to the social media platform with new accounts.

The company has faced accusations in the past that it doesn’t do enough to stop terrorism on its network.

In January, the widow of an American man killed in an attack in Amman, Jordan, filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that it had allowed the spread of terror-related propaganda easier.

"Without Twitter, the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible,” the complaint said.

Responding to the suit at the time, Twitter said: "While we believe the lawsuit is without merit, we are deeply saddened to hear of this family's terrible loss.”

The company has tried to strike a balance between freedom of expression and clamping down on terrorism.

ABC News’ Lee Ferran and Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.

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