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Twitter 'amnesty' sparks concerns

China Daily | Updated: 2022-11-26 09:05

Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. [Photo/Agencies]

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter's owner Elon Musk said on Thursday that he is granting "amnesty" for suspended accounts on the platform, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation.

The billionaire's announcement came after he asked in a poll posted to his timeline to vote on reinstatements for accounts that have not "broken the law or engaged in egregious spam". The yes vote was 72 percent.

"The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk tweeted using a Latin phrase meaning "the voice of the people, the voice of God."

Musk used the same Latin phrase after posting a similar poll the previous weekend before reinstating the account of former president Donald Trump, which Twitter had banned.

In the month since Musk took over Twitter, groups that monitor the platform for racist, anti-Semitic and other toxic speech say it's been on the rise on the world's de facto public square. That has included a surge in racist abuse of World Cup soccer players that Twitter is allegedly failing to act on.

The uptick in harmful content is in large part due to the disorder following Musk's decision to lay off half the company's 7,500-person workforce, fire top executives, and then institute a series of ultimatums that prompted hundreds more to quit.

A report from the European Union published on Thursday said Twitter has taken longer to review hateful content and removed less of it this year compared with in 2021.

Meanwhile, Twitter's decision to shut down its Brussels office and the laying off of thousands of employees are drawing concerns on whether the company can comply with new tough European Union rules against illegal online content, EU justice chief Didier Reynders said on Thursday.

Reynders, who met with Twitter representatives at the social media platform's European headquarters in Dublin, sought clarifications from the company, a European Commission official told Reuters.

The new rules known as the Digital Services Act, which will apply from February 2024, require online platforms to do more to police the internet for illegal content or risk fines of as much as 6 percent of their annual global turnover.

Agencies Via Xinhua

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