The Trust and Safety Council, composed of experts outside the social network, had been in place since 2016. It helped the company’s teams define its moderation policies for the platform.
Elon Musk presents himself as a great defender of freedom of expression and has multiplied the changes in relation to moderation on Twitter since he bought the social network. After the return of banned personalities or the end of the fight against disinformation linked to Covid, the head of the company decided to dissolve the trust and safety council on December 12.
Created in 2016it was an advisory body made up of experts outside the company whose purpose was to“improve the calmness of the public conversation”. He thus helped Twitter improve its moderation policies regarding harassment, suicide, and child sexual exploitation. The members of this council were informed of its dissolution by e-mail. Shared by CNNthis explains that Twitter “reevaluates the best way to integrate external views” in the development of its platform and policy and believes that the body “isn’t the best structure to do that”.
A boss and changes criticized
Like other changes made by Elon Musk, the abolition of the Trust and Security Council, which has no successor at the moment, has been criticized. Patricia Cartes, a former Twitter employee who created the advisory body, said Monday that its dissolution “means that there is no longer a balance of power”. Alex Holmes, one of its members, found this decision regrettable. “Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council was made up of volunteers who for many years volunteered when consulted by Twitter employees to advise them on a wide range of security issues. and online dangers »has he declared on the social network. He also reminded that the board “had never been a governing or decision-making body”.
The dissolution of this body was announced when a meeting was to be held between its members and the new head of the Twitter trust and security team, Ella Irwin. It was canceled at the last minute. Few days ago, three members had also announced their withdrawalexplains it “Contrary to what Elon Musk claims, the safety and well-being of Twitter users is declining”. Councilors were further harassed over the weekend following a statement from the social media boss that they had “Refused to take action against child sexual exploitation for years”. But as the Associated Press recalls, the organ had a working group on this issue.
Elon Musk also targeted former Twitter security chief Yoel Roth over the weekend. “Yoel appears to be arguing for children’s access to adult internet services in his doctoral thesis”has he tweeted. According to CNNhe was forced to leave his home because of the threats he received.