Twitter’s decision to suspend the account of Hollywood actor Rose McGowan, one of the many who have accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, has not gone down well with women. In protest, several actors, activists and other Twitter users have called for a day-long boycott of the social media platform on Friday.

#WomenBoycottTwitter has been trending on Twitter since McGowan shared the news of her 12-hour suspension from the social media platform on Instagram on Thursday night.

On Instagram, McGowan had posted a screenshot of the message she had received from Twitter, which asked her to “delete Tweets that violate our rules”. The social media platform, already accused of being unable to check abuse, especially against women, drew severe criticism for the move. Many users expressed their anger and asked for their accounts to be suspended.

Twitter tried to justify its decision in a statement released on Thursday.

“We want to explain that her account was temporarily locked because one of her tweets included a private phone number, which violates our terms of service,” the company said. “We will be clearer about these policies and decisions in the future...Twitter is proud to empower and support the voices on our platform, especially those that speak truth to power.”

Weinstein is facing multiple allegations of gross sexual misconduct, which go back to the 1990s. Among those who have reported being sexually harassed or assaulted by the film produced are actors Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Cara Delevingne.

The 65-year-old was removed from his position as co-chairman of the Weinstein Company after the reports emerged.