by Elon Musk’s Twitter has dissolved the Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of about 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other platform issues.
The board had been scheduled to meet with Twitter representatives on Monday evening. But Twitter informed the group via email that it would disband it shortly before the meeting took place, according to multiple members.
The board members, who provided images of the Twitter email to the Associated Press, spoke on condition of anonymity over fears of retaliation. The email said Twitter was “reevaluating the best way to bring in external insights” and the advice was “not the best structure to do that.”
“Our work to make Twitter a safe and informative place will move faster and more aggressively than ever before and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward on how we can achieve this,” the email reads, signed “Twitter “.
The volunteer group provided expertise and guidance on how Twitter could better combat hate, harassment, and other harms, but had no decision-making authority and did not look into specific content disputes. Shortly after buying Twitter for $44 billion in late October, Musk said he would form a new “content moderation council” to help make important decisions, but later changed his mind.
“Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council was a group of volunteers who for many years gave up their time when consulted by Twitter staff to offer advice on a wide range of online harms and safety issues,” the council member tweeted. Alex Holmes. “At no point was it a governing body or a decision-making process.”
Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, confirmed the meeting with the board on Thursday in an email promising an “open conversation and Q&A” with Twitter staff, including the new chief of trust and security. , Ella Irwin.
This came on the same day that three board members announced their resignations in a public statement posted on Twitter saying that “contrary to what Elon Musk has claimed, the safety and well-being of Twitter users are in decline “.
Those former board members soon became the target of online attacks after Musk amplified criticism of them and Twitter’s past leadership for allegedly not doing enough to stop child sexual exploitation on the platform.
“It’s a crime that they have refused to take action against child exploitation for years!” Musk tweeted.
A growing number of attacks on the board have sparked concerns from some remaining members who sent an email to Twitter on Monday asking the company to stop misrepresenting the board’s role.
Those false allegations by Twitter leaders were “endangering current and former members of the Council,” the email said.
Indeed, the Trust and Safety Council had one of its advisory groups dealing with child labor. This included the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Rati Foundation, and YAKIN, or Youth Adult Survivors & Kin in Need.
