Twitter pauses public verification amid deluge of fresh applications
What's the story
Earlier this month, Twitter had announced that it will restart the account verification process after an almost four-year hiatus. Verified Twitter accounts are easily identifiable by a blue tick.
However, just eight days later, the microblogging site announced that it is temporarily pausing fresh applications until it processes the ones received so far.
Here are more details on why the process has been halted.
Brief window
Twitter implemented new rules for verification in December
In December 2020, Twitter implemented new rules that defined who can apply for account verification and outlined the process for applicants. The platform said that brands, government officials, activists, internet personalities, and journalists will be fast-tracked for approval provided they submitted required proofs.
However, this brief window was the first time that the platform accepted verification requests since the start of the Trump administration.
Categorization bottleneck?
Twitter is pausing the process until submitted applications are reviewed
In a tweet announcing that it won't accept more verification requests, the microblogging platform clarified that the process has been paused until the submitted applications are reviewed.
In its announcement earlier this month, Twitter had said that it would classify verified accounts into six categories, with more coming later this year.
We believe the categorization could have slowed down the verification process further.
Process
Accounts seeking verification must submit government-issued ID proofs
Those applying for verification must confirm their authenticity with a government-issued ID. Additionally, their account must have adhered to Twitter's rules and should have been active for the last six months.
Users can apply for verification directly through an option in the Settings tab, but Twitter stopped accepting applications in 2017 "after hearing feedback that it felt arbitrary and confusing to many people."
Pinky promise
We hope pause doesn't last four years like last time
At present, around 360,000 people have Verified accounts on Twitter. That's a small number considering that the microblogging platform boasts of having around 187 million monetizable daily active users.
That said, we just hope the number rises soon so Twitterati has access to more credible information and that Twitter starts accepting applications again. The promise does seem to hold some weight this time.