Twitter Unlocks Rose McGowan's Account, Tries To Explain Itself

Twitter Inc TWTR reversed a temporary suspension on actress Rose McGowan’s account Thursday after fielding backlash for censoring a voice decrying sexual harassment.

McGowan, who reached a settlement with producer Harvey Weinstein over sexual come-ons in the 1990s, had been using the platform to campaign for justice until management froze her public activity.

On Wednesday, Twitter advised McGowan that her account violated Twitter Rules and had been limited to sending Direct Messages until she deleted offending posts.

McGowan took to Instagram to appeal for support, writing: “TWITTER HAS SUSPENDED ME. THERE ARE POWERFUL FORCES AT WORK. BE MY VOICE. #ROSEARMY.”

The resulting community outrage prompted Twitter’s official statement:

“We want to explain that her account was temporarily locked because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates our Terms of Service. The Tweet was removed and her account has been unlocked. We will be clearer about these policies and decisions in the future.”

The company also pledged support to the women who have spoken out about Weinstein.

McGowan’s supporters were unconvinced. They interpreted the suspension as an act of disempowerment and questioned consistency in the policy.

"#RoseMcGowan gets suspended from Twitter 4 speaking against sexual assault but the 1000's of men who threaten her w/ sexual assault don't," comedian Debra DiGiovanni wrote.

"Wow, @Twitter, seriously? THIS is the account you suspend but not Trump who threatened to wipe out another country? Suspend me too, please," director Paul Feig wrote.

Some called for a protest against the social media platform. Users are organizing using #WomenBoycottTwitter and have proposed Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 community log-offs.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey soon posted in acknowledgement of the public relations gaffe: "We need to be a lot more transparent in our actions in order to build trust," he tweeted.

Image credit: pinguino k from North Hollywood, USA (IMG_1609) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons