Twitter disbands panel that cracked down on child exploitation and harassment

According to US media, Twitter has dissolved a committee that advised the short message service on how to deal with hate messages and other problems on the platform.

Members of the so-called “Trust and Safety Council” should actually meet Monday evening with representatives of the company, the AP news agency and the “Wall Street Journal” reported. Shortly before, Twitter had informed members that the committee would be disbanded.

The Advisory Board was established in 2016. Members included representatives of civil society, such as human rights and youth protection organisations. Her task was to advise the company on the further development of products and rules.

Now on one deleted Twitter website It said the panel of outside expert organizations advised on issues such as online safety, human and digital rights, suicide prevention, mental health, child sexual exploitation and dehumanization.

AP quotes from an email that Twitter is now examining how best to introduce outside views. The Advisory Council is not the right instrument for this. However, Twitter will make sure that the platform is faster informational and more secure than before, the email said.

Since Twitter was taken over by American billionaire Elon Musk this year, the question is what the role of the advisory board is. Musk had said he wanted to form a new committee to deal with controversial content. However, it always remained unclear how the tasks of the two groups should be demarcated.

Three members of the panel resigned in protest last week, writing in a statement that “contrary to Elon Musk’s claims, the safety and well-being of Twitter users is deteriorating.”

Sources

(dsc/aeg)