Some Twitter users are still facing issues with getting their accounts restored after suspicions of underage use resulted in them being removed or limited on the platform. That’s following a move by the social network in June to block accounts suspected of being held by or created by individuals under the required 13-year-old age limit. The company hasn’t said how many of its users were ultimately affected but users have been required to prove that by sending copies of identifying documents to the company. In some instances, that has included identification of parents of account holders. Despite complying with that request, many users are reportedly claiming that their accounts have still not been reinstated after proving they are not underage. Others are have said that they can access their accounts but that those are limited. Meanwhile, a few of those accounts appear to have been the correct age but still had suspensions put in place due to birth date changes.
For its part, Twitter had said it was looking into ways to remove any content posted by users while they were still underage. That would allow users who are now over the required limit to continue using the platform and could be a plausible reason with regard to why the process is taking so long to complete. It also makes sense in light of rules such as the recently introduced GDPR regulations passed in the E.U., which could see fines leveled against the company for allowing content posted by underage internet users. Those can equal up to 4-percent of a company’s global turnover if that amount is higher than a minimum fee of just over $23.5 million. The rule is intended to ensure that companies like Twitter are enforcing age-restrictive policies in order to keep would be underage users safe online.
However, the above-mentioned statement was made alongside the initial announcement nearly a month ago and an untold number of accounts appear to remain locked. In the meantime, the company has allegedly stopped responding to some users who are trying to get their accounts reinstated. The social media giant has not released any further comments on the matter either, leading to some speculation that the problem is no longer being addressed.
