On X (formerly Twitter), messages with hate content skyrocketed. after “deep cuts” of staff since the South African tycoon's arrival in October 2022 Elon Musk, The Australian Internet Safety Agency denounced this in a report on Thursday.
The Australian eSafety Commission spoke of “deep cuts” and the reinstatement of thousands of accounts that were blocked for spreading hate content They created a “perfect storm” for publishing harmful content. The Australian regulator had access to a detailed breakdown of the software engineers, content moderators and other security guards working at X through a law passed in the Oceanian country.
According to this data, more than 1,200 “security personnel” have left X worldwide since Musk’s arrival Around 6,100 previously suspended accounts have been restored.
“Several of these reinstated users were suspended for online hate. This allowed the worst offenders to return to action while significantly reducing security staffing levels.” whose job is to protect users from harm“There are clear concerns about the impact on user safety,” says agency director Julie Inman Grant.
The Australian representative emphasized that this staff reduction also had a direct impact on the social network's response times to complaints about hate messages. Australia is leading the global push to regulate social media, forcing tech companies to describe how they address problems such as hate speech and child sexual abuse.
But attempts to exercise these powers are sometimes met with indifference from companies. In October 2023, the Australian Commission Fine XA$610,500 (approx. 373,000 euros) with the accusation that it had not explained what measures it was taking against child pornography. However, X ignored the deadline to pay the fine and initiated ongoing legal action to have the fine lifted.