Twitter has been widely criticised over the implementation of a system which will allow it to block tweets in specific countries while allowing them to be published in others.
The social network said it would assess requests to block tweets on a case by case basis and that its approach to freedom of speech would not change.
In a blog post the company pointed out that content which was legal in some countries would breach the law in others. It cited France and Germany, where pro-Nazi content is banned, as an example. The new filter would, it said, allow it to block relevant tweets in countries where they are illegal, while displaying them in others.
Twitter has been been seen as a force for good in countries where freedom of speech is restricted: it is widely used by pro-democracy campaigners in the Middle East, for example. But it has also been used to break injunctions in the UK.
The company said that it will continue to post requests for the blocking of tweets to the Chilling Effects website which collects and analyses legal complaints about activity online.
