Twitter unveils system for local blocking of tweets

Twitter has added a management feature which will allow the company to block content from users in specific countries.

The company said it is now able to censor its service to withhold banned content in individual nations based on local laws and government requests.

According to Twitter, the blocking tool is designed to comply with local laws, such as bans on pro-Nazi content in Germany.

While the company has yet to deploy the feature, Twitter said it will first notify users of the change and provide alerts when content is being blocked.

The company is also looking to partner with watchdog site Chilling Effects to provide users with a log of any blocked content on the service.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," the company said in a blog post.

"Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content."

The blocking tool could anger users who have viewed the service as a champion of free speech and human rights. The company has in the past vowed to circumvent user censorship in countries such as China and Iran.

The service has also been credited as a tool for government protest. Twitter and other platforms were credited with helping citizens organise protests and report news during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.

Twitter vowed to continue its pursuit of free speech and whenever possible defend its users' access to content.

"One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user’s voice," Twitter told users.

"We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't."