(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) applauds Twitter’s announcement of its renewed efforts to suspend accounts tied to violent extremist groups and their supporters. Eighteen months after CEP initially raised the alarm over the misuse of Twitter by extremists to radicalize, recruit, and incite violence, these efforts are a positive step in the fight to curb extremists’ weaponization of online platforms and digital technologies. We hope that these suspended accounts do not reappear in short order.

It is also critical for Twitter and other social media platforms to work to stop extremist users from posting dangerous content in the first place. We therefore call on Twitter, while continuing its commendable efforts to suspend accounts, to work cooperatively and continuously to end extremists’ recruitment, propagandizing, and calls for violence online before it even begins.