Elon Musk’s Twitter has disbanded its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of about 100 independent civil rights, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech , child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other issues related to the platform. .
The board was scheduled to meet with Twitter representatives Monday night. But Twitter informed the group via email that it would disband shortly before the meeting took place, according to several members.
The board members, who provided images of the Twitter email to The Associated Press, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“Our work to make Twitter a safe and informative place will move faster and more aggressively than ever before, and we’ll continue to welcome your ideas on how to make that happen,” the email, signed “Twitter,” reads.
The volunteer group provided expertise and guidance on how Twitter could better combat hate, harassment and other harm, but had no decision-making authority and did not review specific content disputes.
“Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council has been a group of volunteers who, over many years, have volunteered when consulted by Twitter staff to provide advice on a wide range of safety and injury issues online,” board member Alex Holmes tweeted. “At no time was it a governing or decision-making body.”
Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, confirmed the meeting with the board on Thursday in an email that promised an “open conversation and Q&A” with Twitter staff, including its new head 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 Elon Musk’s claims, the safety and well-being of Twitter users is in decline.”
Those former board members soon became the target of online attacks after Musk criticized them and former Twitter management for not doing enough to stop child sexual exploitation on the platform.
“It’s a crime that they refused to take action against child exploitation for years!” Musk tweeted.
A growing number of attacks on the board have raised concerns from some remaining members who sent an email on Twitter on Monday asking the company to stop misrepresenting its role.
These false accusations by Twitter leaders “put current and former Council members at risk,” the email said.
Indeed, the Trust and Safety Board had one of its advisory groups dealing with child exploitation. These include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Rati Foundation and YAKIN, or Adult Survivors for Youth and Relatives in Need.
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