Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council Disbanded After Key Members Resign

Twitter disbanded the Trust and Safety Council today, an advisory group of about 100 human rights activists and independent researchers offering outside expert advice to the company.

A now-deleted page from Twitter’s website explained the council comprised external organizations that gave input on various issues, such as human and digital rights, online safety, suicide prevention, child sexual exploitation, mental health, and dehumanization.

Twitter explained that:

Together, they advocate for safety and advise us as we develop our products, programs, and rules

Musk, who has been losing popularity since he acquired Twitter, said that the company:

Will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints

Without any significant developments since.

Reportedly, the council members received an email from Twitter saying that the council is “not the best structure” to get external insights into the company’s product and policy development work.

Musk's message to TSC members

While saying it would “continue to welcome” ideas from council members, there were no assurances that the company would consider them.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Musk disbanded the advisory body less than an hour before it was due to meet with Twitter staff, including the senior public policy director, Nick Pickles, and the new head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin.

Last week, three council members resigned in protest, writing in a statement that:

Contrary to claims by Elon Musk, the safety and well-being of Twitter’s users are on the decline

In a letter to Elon Musk, the members noted that Musk ignored the group despite claiming to focus on user safety on the platform. It said:

The establishment of the Council represented Twitter’s commitment to move away from a US-centric approach to user safety, stronger collaboration across regions, and the importance of having deeply experienced people on the safety team.

It further went on to say:

That last commitment is no longer evident, given Twitter’s recent statement that it will rely more heavily on automated content moderation. Algorithmic systems can only go so far in protecting users from ever-evolving abuse and hate speech before detectable patterns have developed

This new development comes as Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, is progressively undoing many of the policies and practices put in place before he took over the company.

Musk announcing Twitter will remove legacy verifications is yet another upcoming change from the old model.

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