In the past few weeks, Twitter has begun suspending popular accounts for violating its rules and terms of service. 

The crackdown has mainly been on accounts guilty of “Tweetdecking,” or using a mass retweet system to forcefully make tweets go viral. The terms of service specifically state that users may not “sell, purchase, or attempt to artificially inflate account interactions.” The website has also been suspending hugely popular accounts that steal smaller accounts’ tweets in order to gain retweets and popularity.  

The account suspensions have been raising paranoia among Twitter users that their personal accounts may be next. While there are several offenses that may lead to an account suspension, users should not worry if they have not been violating the Twitter rules or terms of service. The main reason personal accounts have been recently suspended is for hate-speech, specifically that directed at celebrities and politicians. It is increasingly common to see threats, hate-speech, and offensive content posted in reply to the tweet of a celebrity or politician with whom individuals may not agree; CEO Jack Dorsey has made a considerable effort to stop this trend.  

“We are not proud of how people have taken advantage of our service, or of our inability to address it fast enough,” tweeted Dorsey.  

It is worth noting that profanity itself is not prohibited on Twitter, but its use in a threatening or hateful manner directed at another individual is. It is also worth noting that, while profanity will not necessarily get a user kicked off Twitter, it can still be risky to have on a personal account.  

In an interview with the Huffington Post, University of Georgia Assistant Director of Admissions Cindy Boyles Crawford disclosed that many colleges view social media when considering a candidate for admission.  

“Many scholarships, organizations, and companies see social media as a true view of a student’s character,” says Crawford. “One could easily be outstanding in an interview, then tarnish the image by an irresponsible post on their profile.” 

It is generally recommended that aspiring college students or even people seeking employment use privacy settings wisely and remove any offensive, embarrassing, or inappropriate content.  

Whatever the case, Twitter users should definitely be careful what they choose to post on their personal accounts.