Waves of layoffs ordered by Elon Musk have exhausted the team tasked with fighting child sexual exploitation on Twitter. Not surprisingly, on a global scale, the workforce reductions were successful for half of the employees dedicated to the subject, reports Bloomberg on Tuesday, November 29. The unit now has fewer than 10 specialists tasked with examining and referring complaints of child sexual exploitation, while at the beginning of the year Twitter had a team of about 20 people.
The move comes as lawmakers in the European Union and the United Kingdom are planning sweeping measures that will force social media platforms to better protect children or face hefty fines. According to Bloomberg, the department in question was already in high demand before the cuts decided by Elon Musk.
Elon Musk’s ultimatum accelerated departures
Its members were especially responsible for ending the spread of child pornography, reporting cases of psychological manipulation of minors online, and banning media that promoted attraction to minors such as sexual identity or orientation. These specialists worked closely with product managers and engineers who specialized in designing tools to stop the spread of content, as well as contractors who helped classify messages reported by users.
While only a few employees were laid off in the first wave of layoffs, the team was decimated when Elon Musk told Twitter employees to commit to a “hardcore” culture or lose their jobs. Many did not believe in the vision of the new owner of the social network. Last week, Musk tweeted that “eliminating child exploitation is the #1 priority” on Twitter. He also asked netizens to “respond in the comments if you see anything Twitter should address.”
A statement made as some major hashtags associated with the sexual exploitation of children have been removed since the billionaire took over Twitter. Changes that were already underway before his arrival, however, specify the witnesses interviewed by Bloomberg who argue that the reduction in the number of personnel in charge of the fight against the sexual exploitation of children, in Europe and in Singapore, will make this mission is particularly difficult in the markets. non english speakers.
Source: BFM TV
