Twitter today is introducing a new feature that will allow accounts to self-identify as bots by adding a label to their profile. This feature is designed to help people better differentiate between automated accounts — like bots that retweet the news, public service announcements, or other updates — from those operated by humans. However, it’s not designed to help users identify the “bad bots,” which pose as people, often to spread misinformation or spam.
The company has been contemplating labeling bots for years.
In 2018, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was asked whether users had a “right to know” if they were speaking to a bot or a human on Twitter’s platform. He agreed that Twitter should add more context to tweets and considered identifying bots to the extent it could. However, Dorsey also pointed out it would be more challenging to identify bots that were using scripting to give the appearance of being human compared with those that were leveraging Twitter’s API.
Last year, the company finally solidified those plans, saying it would later introduce new features that would allow users to distinguish between human-run accounts and automated ones. When Twitter launched its account verification system in May, it reminded users that it would soon offer other ways to identify different versions beyond the long-coveted blue badge — such as labels for bots.
Today, Twitter says its new “Automated Account” label that identifies “good bots” will be available to over 500 Developer Accounts. This group will test the feature and provide feedback before it’s opened up more broadly to all Twitter developers. As it’s still a test, the label won’t be required for the time being.
However, when Twitter updated its Developer Policy last year, it did ask developers to indicate in their account profile or bio whether the account was a bot, what the report was, and who was behind it. These account labels would allow developers to comply with that policy easier than handwriting this information in their bio.
Twitter tells TechCrunch that based on what it learns during this experiment, it may adopt the label as a requirement for all developers who run automated accounts once it becomes broadly available.
To be clear, Twitter doesn’t have any problem with those who run good bots, as it understands how automation can allow accounts to update people with helpful, relevant, or, sometimes, just fun information. The company even celebrated a few of its favorite bots when announcing today’s developer news, including the public service account @earthquakesSF; a bot offering COVID-19 updates, @vax_progress; a bot that provides an ongoing breakdown of the last 100 bills introduced in Congress, @last100bills; an accessibility-focused bot, @AltTxtReminder; and others that add value in their way, like @met_drawings, which shares public domain works from The Met’s Drawings & Prints department, or the goofy @EmojiMashupBot, among others.
All these will be a part of the initial test group.
Twitter is also less concerned with how consumers may use automation to update their accounts, perhaps by using third-party tools like IFTTT to post links or other content.
“You are ultimately responsible for the actions taken with your account or by applications associated with your account,” Twitter’s policy advises Twitter users. “Before authorizing a third-party application to access or use your account, ensure you’ve thoroughly investigated the application and understand what it will do.” It also adds that users who adopt automation will still need to adhere to Twitter’s guidelines. Twitter has not said how long the test would run before the Automated Account labels are rolled out more broadly.
