Last September, Twitter had launched this label to help users identify robotic or automated accounts of other subscribers in the flesh and also to give a boost of legitimacy to “good robots”.
What’s new today is that Twitter is announcing that the label is rolling out internationally.
According to Twitter, this label will provide followers with more details regarding a robotic account (bot) and its purpose. The network hopes this will help people decide which accounts they want to follow and engage with, while adding a layer of trust and transparency.
Since 2020, Twitter requires holders of robotic accounts (also called zombie accounts) to indicate that they are not manually managed by someone. Under this rule, operators of these bot accounts must also display the name of the owner.
Helping “good robots”
This approach by Twitter essentially aims to enhance the value of robotic accounts whose image suffers from a negative connotation.
These “good bot” labels, which had been tested with a small group, are now publicly available to all Automated account holders.
So below the account name and username, a little robot icon appears next to the words “automated by” (or Automated by in English)”, followed by the name of the operator of the account. In addition, the purpose of the robot must be indicated in the bio of the Twitter account.
But there are the “bad robots”
This label does little to change the problem of bad bots spreading spam like promoting cryptocurrencies, or even worse, those trying to influence the electorate in the run-up to an election.
Concretely, the good robots will have the opportunity to identify themselves well, but not the bad ones. The task of separating the wheat from the chaff will fall to users who, as before, will have to denounce accounts that violate Twitter policies.
The feature is available today for automated accounts that use the Twitter application programming interface (API). But Twitter clarifies that there is no system verification at this time.
To find out more, Twitter explains here on its Support Center labels relating to automated accounts.
