Twitter Inc. today announced that its policy to deal with violent speech on the platform has been updated, with the company saying it will now take a “zero tolerance” stance toward the most severe cases.

“Twitter is a place where people can express themselves, learn about what’s happening, and debate global issues,” the company said in a post. “However, healthy conversations can’t thrive when violent speech is used to deliver a message. As a result, we have a zero-tolerance policy towards violent speech in order to ensure the safety of our users and prevent the normalization of violent actions.”

Although some of the language used mirrors Twitter’s past policies on violent speech, there are some changes, and it seems Twitter now wants to make it clear what you can and can’t say under its new owner Elon Musk.

It should be pretty obvious that users should not “incite, promote or encourage” other users to commit violence or promote “genocide” or “war crimes,” but the “coded language” Twitter says that is a masked threat is also verboten on the platform. Twitter says users will also face the music if they “glorify, praise or celebrate” acts of violence that have caused someone obvious harm.

What’s notable is its policy on “wishes of harm,” because anyone who has been brave enough to fight in the trenches of Twitter will know that wishes of harm are thrown around with abandon, with people often saying things such as, “I hope he gets AIDS and dies.” This now might get someone suspended.

“You may not wish, hope, or express desire for harm,” says Twitter. “This includes (but is not limited to) hoping for others to die, suffer illnesses, tragic incidents, or experience other physically harmful consequences.” Users will also get in trouble for telling someone to hurt themselves.

The company will account for irony or banter between friends, but this may happen only after someone has gone through an appeals process. If Twitter finds that the language is extreme and far from ironic, it may lead to a one-strike permanent ban. If a user transgresses multiple times, this may also lead to a lifetime ban. Even in these cases, people can submit an appeal.

Twitter will allow “expressions of violent speech when there is no clear abusive or violent context.” This might mean when users are discussing a soccer match or a movie and expressing that a certain person or character should be killed for perhaps playing badly or in the context of the movie. This might fall under “hyperbolic” speech.

The policies are not wildly different from the past, but it’s no surprise that Twitter has clarified the policy under its new leader, a self-appointed “free-speech absolutist.” Musk has said time and again that free speech always comes first, and although he has been fairly clear about hate speech, there have been concerns that such speech will flourish under the new captain.

Musk has said this hasn’t happened, although his detractors would beg to differ. Hate speech and violent speech may not always be the same, but their paths do occasionally cross.

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