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Twitter, #NBCfail & Olympics

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I thought the internet age had ended this kind of censorship. A fourth thing they do not want people to see is the email address of Gary Zenkel, the executive responsible for this shambles.

I thought the internet age had ended this kind of censorship

And a fifth thing is my Twitter feed, which over the weekend contained a couple of dozen occasionally uncouth observations about their coverage, several of which were accompanied by the trending hashtag: "#NBCfail. " As a journalist, you know you are doing your job properly when you manage to upset rich, powerful and entitled people who are used to getting their own way.

And you know you've really got under their skin when they pursue censorship, the avenue of last resort since time immemorial. The internet era is meant to be different, though. If Twitter doesn't reinstate Guy Adams, it's a defining moment. Once again, we're reminded of a maxim when it comes to publishing on other people's platforms: we publish at their sufferance.

If Twitter doesn't reinstate Guy Adams, it's a defining moment

But there's a corollary: When they take down what we publish, they take an enormous risk with their own futures. This time, Twitter has suspended the account of a British journalist who tweeted the corporate email address of an NBC executive. The reporter, Guy Adams of the Independent, has been acerbic in his criticisms of NBC's (awful) performance during the Olympics in London. Adams has posted his correspondence with Twitter, which claims he published a private email address. It was nothing of the kind, as many, including the Deadspin sports blog, have pointed out. Dannysullivan : NBC Olympics coverage sucks... Hblodget : We're not the "customers,"...

Statement from NBC. London Olympics 2012: Twitter 'alerted NBC to British journalist's critical tweets' But in an email to The Daily Telegraph, Christopher McCloskey, NBC Sport’s vice-president of communications, said Twitter had actually contacted the network’s social media department to alert them to Mr Adams’s tweets.

London Olympics 2012: Twitter 'alerted NBC to British journalist's critical tweets'

Twitter and NBC entered into a partnership to cover to Olympic Games this month, with the technology company featuring highlighted tweets from sports insiders in return for on-air promotions. No money was exchanged in the deal, according to reports. The Guy Adams Case Demonstrates Twitter's Need for an Appeals Process. UPDATE: Twitter has issued an apology to Guy Adams and clarified that they did "mess up" by notifying NBC about the tweet.

The Guy Adams Case Demonstrates Twitter's Need for an Appeals Process

They do, however, continue to claim that the tweet in question violated their Rules despite a sentence that states: "If information was previously posted or displayed elsewhere on the Internet prior to being put on Twitter, it is not a violation of this policy. " The NBC executive's email was published online more than a year ago here.

Among the popular social networking sites, Twitter has often stood out for its stance on free speech. The company has stood up for its users in court, has pontificated on its role in protecting users' right to speak freely, and has even dubbed itself "the free speech wing of the free speech party. " That is why, when British journalist Guy Adams' account was suspended after he tweeted the public e-mail address of an NBC executive, we were shocked. Our approach to Trust & Safety and private information. We want to take a moment to explain some of our general Trust and Safety policies and procedures, and address the specific case at hand that has unfolded over the past 48-hours (we normally don’t address matters pertaining to individual accounts for the privacy of the account, but here the relevant communications are now public).

Our approach to Trust & Safety and private information

When our Trust and Safety team receives a report from a user explaining that his/her private personally-identifiable information has been posted on Twitter, we investigate the issue and temporarily suspend the account if it is found to be violating our Guidelines & Best Practices. We make it possible for people to report posting of their private information because it may be used to harass or intimidate, and in certain circumstances may even be illegal. We have systems in place to address such behavior. Before the violating account is unsuspended, we ask the account holder to do two things: The Trust and Safety team does not actively monitor users’ content. Twitter Apologizes, Admits One Department Helped NBC Get Journalist's Account Suspended. Twitter has confirmed that one of its departments helped NBC report the account of journalist Guy Adams to another of Twitter’s departments as violating Twitter’s privacy rules, getting the account temporarily suspended.

Twitter Apologizes, Admits One Department Helped NBC Get Journalist's Account Suspended

Twitter’s apologized for that interaction. The Apology In a blog post today, Twitter’s general counsel Alex Macgillivray wrote: We want to apologize for the part of this story that we did mess up. The team working closely with NBC around our Olympics partnership did proactively identify a Tweet that was in violation of the Twitter Rules and encouraged them to file a support ticket with our Trust and Safety team to report the violation, as has now been reported publicly. Twitter Doesn’t Act Proactively The post explains that Twitter doesn’t proactively seek out violations of its guidelines, acting only when it receives reports: The Trust and Safety team does not actively monitor users’ content.

But It Did In This Case, So Says Sorry. Guy Adams Twitter incident showcases social network's growing pains. Twitter on Tuesday reinstated the account of a British journalist it suspended for publishing the email address of an executive at NBC, which had been attracting a significant amount of incoming fire over its Olympics coverage.

Guy Adams Twitter incident showcases social network's growing pains

The incident has not done Guy Adams of the Independent much harm. Apart perhaps from a little hurt pride, he has returned to the twittersphere with tens of thousands of new followers. For NBC, it was another blow to its already battered reputation over its coverage of the London Olympic Games. But Twitter found itself in a deeply unfamiliar situation: as the subject of one of the firestorms of indignation that characterises the platform, but which are usually directed at others. As the dust settled on Wednesday, both organisations sought to extricate themselves from the mess with as much dignity as possible. We want to apologize for the part of this story that we did mess up. NBC, meanwhile, acknowledged that things had got out of hand.