Twitter has demonstrated how it uses bots to kill spam

If you think you’re getting less spam on Twitter, you’re right. Twitter has just unveiled BotMaker, a system that lets the social network create anti-spam bot code on the fly. BotMaker can automatically take down pesky spammers, block suspicious links, and flag shady behavior, sometimes, even before the accounts in question have had a chance to send out a single tweet. It’s easy for Twitter engineers to set up rules: if an account is blocked by many people after it tweets, for instance, it will be red flagged.

Have you noticed that you’re getting a lot less spam on Twitter these days? You may have to thank a bot for that. Twitter has just shed light on BotMaker, a recently developed system that (as the name suggests) lets the social network create anti-spam bot code with very little effort. Within a few seconds, engineers can set up rules that automatically take down and track spammers, in some cases before they’ve even managed to post anything. Besides barring known spam links, the bots can flag suspicious behavior — if a lot of people block an account after it sends a tweet, it’s going to be watched very closely. BotMaker will also look at long-term behavior, so spammers that slip through the cracks aren’t necessarily safe.