Twitter has again suspended the account verification program after being open for several months. What is it?
The temporary closure comes after Twitter accidentally verified and provided blue ticks for fake accounts, some of which are part of a bot network. Twitter said it would review the account verification process on its platform.
"We're temporarily pausing the rollout of access to apply for Verification so we can make improvements to the registration and review process," Twitter said via the @verified account, as quoted from The Verge, Monday (16/8/2021).
"For those of you who have been waiting, we know this may be disappointing. We want to fix it and appreciate your patience," he continued.
With this temporary closure, Twitter users will not be able to apply for a blue tick. Users who have registered do not need to worry because Twitter will continue to process the registration that has been entered.
Twitter did not indicate whether to change the criteria a user must meet to get the blue tick. A Twitter spokesperson said they would reopen the account verification program in the coming weeks.
This is not the first time Twitter has suspended its account verification program. The company with the bird logo closed its verification program in 2017 after giving a blue tick to organizers of the far-right protest group Unite The Right in Charlottesville, USA.
Twitter brought back the account verification program to the public in mid-2021. But a week later it was closed due to a flood of requests from users.
In July 2021, Twitter's account verification program returned to the limelight after giving blue ticks to six bot accounts that used stolen photos. Twitter immediately deleted the accounts and removed the blue ticks for violating the rules.