Less than a week after Twitter withdrew from the EU code of conduct, the head of trust and safety, Irwin, is leaving the group. This brings new explosiveness to the fake news debate.
In the midst of the debate about a possibly too lax action against hate speech and misinformation from Twitter, the group has lost its boss for trust and security. Ella Irwin told the Reuters news agency that she had given up her job as the person responsible for moderating the content at the short message service. She did not provide any further information. The Bloomberg agency also reports on her withdrawal.
Irwin had taken the post about a year ago. Owner and Tesla boss Elon Musk was initially unavailable for comment.
Twitter pulls out of EUCode of Conduct return
Last week, according to the EU Commission, Twitter withdrew from a voluntary EU code of conduct to combat misinformation. This requires companies to take action against the spread of fake news and to regularly report on progress. Among other things, it is about how many false accounts were created and used or how fact checks affected the spread of disinformation.
In addition to Twitter, companies that have signed the code include Google, TikTok, Microsoft and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The EU Commission had already reported in February that the Twitter report had recently lagged behind the others. According to the Brussels authority, what had been submitted contained little specific information and no targeted data.
However, the company remains bound by the obligations laid down there, warned EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton after withdrawing from the code of conduct. “They can run, but they can’t hide.” Beyond the voluntary commitments, the fight against disinformation will be mandatory under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) from August 25. “Our teams will be ready to enforce.”
Procedure according to Faeser irresponsible
Among other things, the DSA is intended to ensure that platforms remove illegal content on their sites more quickly. Violations can result in fines of up to six percent of annual sales. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also called Twitter’s actions irresponsible. “Disinformation, lies and propaganda fuel hatred and are poison for democracy,” said the SPD politician last week. “Our right applies to all platforms, we will enforce it.”
Other measures taken by the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who took over the short message service in October 2022 for $44 billion (today around €40 billion), had caused a stir. In the course of a chaotic corporate restructuring, the entrepreneur fired top management and more than two-thirds of the 7,500 employees. He also had the blue verification tick removed from the accounts of numerous users who do not have a paid subscription.
An amnesty for previously blocked users like former President Donald Trump had also caused a stir. Some strategic decisions apparently deterred some users and advertisers. According to market observers, Twitter’s income has recently declined. Musk intends to give up his top job soon, followed by advertising expert Linda Yaccarino at the end of June.