Twitter Restates That World Leaders Don't Always Have to Follow it's Rules

Facing a request to boot President Donald Trump from its platform, Twitter on Tuesday affirmed that world leaders are not above its rules but defended its discretion to preserve some tweets that violate its policies.

The update, detailed in a blog post, seemed unlikely to quiet increasingly forceful appeals for technology giants to regulate Trump's use of social media, which is central to his political strategy.

The new guidelines from Twitter came two weeks after Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a Democratic presidential contender, asked the company to consider suspending Trump's account, claiming his online communications "put people at risk and our democracy in danger."

The dispute stems from Twitter's announcement this summer that it would label tweets from world leaders whose comments violate site policies, including those designed to prevent harm and abuse. The rules were designed to strike a balance between the public's right to know and Twitter's efforts to ensure that hate speech, misinformation and other troubling content do not go viral.