Australian online watchdogs revealed on Thursday that Elon Musk's company, X, has terminated more than a thousand employees globally from teams responsible for removing offensive content from the internet.
The regulator has been closely monitoring X, formerly known as Twitter, in recent months and noted an increase in "toxicity and hate" on the platform around the time of Musk's takeover.
The eSafety Commission obtained a detailed list of software engineers, content moderators, and other safety personnel employed by X using Australia's innovative Online Safety Act, which revealed that 1,213 specialized "trust and safety staff," have departed from X since Musk's acquisition in October 2022.
Fulfillment of the Government's Basic Online Safety Expectations
Proof of the reduction surfaced when the independent body overseeing and regulating Australians' online activities issued a legal notice to X Corp in June. Acting under the Online Safety Act, it sought specific details about Twitter/X's efforts to fulfill the Australian government's Basic Online Safety Expectations regarding online hate and the enforcement of its policy on hateful conduct.
The company disclosed a 30% reduction in directly employed moderators and a global public policy staff number of 80%, which involved software engineers dealing with "trust and safety issues." Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, a former Twitter employee, compared it to Volvo, a brand known for safety, eliminating all its designers or engineers, which creates a "perfect storm" by significantly reducing defenses and allowing repeat offenders back onto the platform.
Although news of staff reductions in online moderation and safety had circulated since Musk's acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, this marks the first instance where specific figures detailing the affected areas have been provided, according to the Australian Commissioner.
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Perfect Storm of Challenges
In addition to the safety and moderation personnel reduction, X Corp allowed 6,100 banned accounts to return to the platform in Australia. Reports indicated 62,000 suspended accounts were reinstated globally, which X Corp confirmed are not subject to additional scrutiny.
Grant expressed that combined substantial cuts to safety and local public policy staff with the reinstatement of thousands of previously banned users will make social media platforms more toxic and unsafe for users, creating a perfect storm of challenges.
A recent eSafety study in Australia revealed that First Nations youth are three times more likely to encounter online hate speech compared to their non-indigenous peers. X Corp mentioned it had not formally communicated with any First Nations organizations after initiating layoffs in safety staff and receiving the legal notice.
Australia has taken a lead in the global effort to regulate social media, compelling tech companies to detail their strategies for addressing problems like hate speech and child sexual abuse. However, efforts to use these powers have sometimes been met with disregard.
X's Fine on Child Pornography
In October, the eSafety Commission imposed a fine of Aus$610,500 (US$388,000) on X, stating that the company had not demonstrated sufficient efforts to combat child pornography.
X missed the deadline to pay the fine and initiated continuous legal proceedings to challenge it. The company did not respond to AFP's request for comment, providing only an automated response stating, "busy now, please check back later."
