Elon Musk’s Twitter faces Australian wrath over online hate
Defense Visual Information Distribution ServiceAn Australian safety body, eSafety, has said that Twitter is now one of its most complained about platforms since Elon Musk took over.
eSafety, an Australian online safety watchdog has posted a public report, in which they “demand answers from Twitter” about the state of online hate stemming from the platform.
The report claims that eSafety has seen a massive increase in complaints since Elon Musk took over in October 2022. They also say the complaints are more than “any other platform”.
Should Twitter not respond to eSafety’s latest report, the company could see a maximum fine of $700,000 a day until the watchdog is satisfied that it isn’t “continuing breaches.”
eSafety says that this rise in online hate correlates with the company’s mass layoffs. The workforce was reduced from 8000 to 1500 and is now estimated to be around 1000.
These layoffs saw a large portion of Twitter’s trust and safety teams let go, and at the start of June, the head of the department resigned.
The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said in the post:
“We are seeing a worrying surge in hate online, eSafety research shows that nearly 1 in 5 Australians have experienced some form of online hate.
“Twitter appears to have dropped the ball on tackling hate. A third of all complaints about online hate reported to us are now happening on Twitter.”
Australian watchdog could fine Twitter $700,000 a day over online hate
Inman Grant also says that the watchdog is aware of Twitter reinstating accounts known to be “extreme polarisers… including neo-Nazis in Australia and overseas.”
Other safety bodies around the world are brought up in the report, including the Anti-Defamation League. The anti-semitism watchdog found a 61% increase in hate directed towards Jews.
Meanwhile, the CCDH in the UK found Twitter users increased hateful conduct towards African Americans an increase to 3876 times a day, from 1282.
eSafety also pointed out that GLAAD has also deemed Twitter the only platform to not increase online safety for LGBTQ+ users. GLAAD’s report states:
“All platforms’ scores, except that of Twitter, improved from 2022 scores. Safety and the quality of safeguarding of LGBTQ users remain unsatisfactory.”
In the last few days, Elon Musk and Joe Rogan have been called out for spreading misinformation about vaccinations. Musk has also challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, which Zuckerberg surprisingly responded to.
