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| Twitter dissolves its Trust and Safety Committee after prominent members resign |
Twitter on Monday dissolved the Security and Trust Council, an advisory body made up of experts from 100 independent civil rights and human rights organizations that helped the company for years develop guidelines for regulating content on the platform.
Founded in 2016, the Trust and Safety Council advises the social network on various content and human rights issues, such as removal of child pornography, suicide prevention, and online safety.
Since the board is made up of experts from around the world, it is believed that its dissolution could affect the general moderation of content on Twitter.
According to multiple reports, board members received an email from Twitter on Monday stating, "Our work to make Twitter a safe and helpful place is moving faster and stronger than ever before, and we continue to welcome ideas on how we can move forward." towards this goal.”
Although the company said it would "continue to welcome" board members' ideas, it has not confirmed whether they will be considered.
A Wall Street Journal report indicated that the email was sent an hour before a scheduled board meeting with Twitter employees including Ella Irwin, the new head of trust and safety, and Nick Pickles, senior director of public policy.
This development follows the resignation of three key members of the Trust and Safety Committee last week. The members said in a letter that Elon Musk ignored the committee despite his alleged focus on user safety on the platform.
"The formation of this board represents Twitter's commitment to moving away from a US-centric approach to user security, increasing collaboration between regions, and emphasizing the importance of deeply experienced individuals on the security team," the letter read. Relying more on automated content moderation, a new promise that can no longer be taken for granted.
Notably, after his takeover of Twitter in late October, Elon Musk said he would set up a new content moderation committee that would include those who disagreed, but nothing has happened to that committee yet.