more than 1,200 employees laid off worldwide

2024-01-11 12:25:00

The moderation of the social network X (formerly Twitter) still raises questions. Elon Musk’s company has laid off more than 1,200 employees worldwide within teams responsible for combating abusive online content and moderation, according to new figures published this Thursday by eSafety, the Australian internet regulator . He notably considered that these “ dark cuts » and the reinstatement of thousands of banned accounts had created “ the worst situation » for the dissemination of harmful content.

Using Australia’s Online Safety Act, the eSafety Commission managed to obtain a detailed list of software engineers, content moderators and other security personnel working at X. This is the first once such figures are made public. Experts showed that 1,213 moderation staff specialists, including subcontractors, had left X since its acquisition by Elon Musk in October 2022, including 80% software engineers.

Australia, spearhead

Cuts which can have negative consequences on the moderation of online content. According to the commissioner of the Australian regulator, Julie Inman Grant, herself a former Twitter employee, this is “the worst situation. You significantly lower your defenses and reintroduce repeat offenders to the platform ».

« Removing 80% of these specialized engineers is as if Volvo, renowned for its safety standards, separated itself from all its designers or engineers “, she told AFP.

Australia has spearheaded the global effort to regulate social media, forcing tech companies to explain how they tackle issues such as hate speech and child sexual abuse. The regulatory authority had already stated that Elon Musk’s takeover of the social network had coincided with a peak in ” toxicity and hatred » on X. In October, the eSafety Commission then fined X 610,500 Australian dollars, or 410,000 US dollars. She then asserted that the platform did not clearly show that it was fighting once morest the proliferation of content involving sexual assault on minors. But X ignored the deadline to pay the fine, before launching legal action to have it overturned.

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Europe on alert

Beyond Australia, the European Union has also recently asked questions regarding the regulation of the social network since its purchase by the American billionaire. In mid-December, Brussels opened a “ formal investigation » for alleged breaches of European rules on content moderation and transparency. A first under the new European legislation on digital services (DSA).

The lack of human moderators at X (formerly Twitter), exposed by the DSA

If X is not yet declared “ guilty », the European Commission, which now plays the role of digital policeman, is concerned regarding the means implemented to identify and rule out dangerous publications. The list of grievances is also long and will be subject to careful examination: low number of moderators, ineffective reporting of illegal content, insufficient warning messages once morest violent images, unsatisfactory access to X’s data granted to the regulator. ..

Also pinned are the blue stickers affixed to certain accounts, which are likely to mislead Internet users into believing in certified identities. Or the notes added by the user community to recontextualize information but which seem too few in certain languages.

« Gone are the days when large online platforms behaved as if they were too big to care regarding the rules », declared the European Commissioner for Digital, Thierry Breton, stressing that the new legislation now made it possible to “ protect our citizens and our democracies ».

X nevertheless affirmed that he remained “ committed to complying with regulations » and promised to cooperate. “ It is important that this process remains free from any political influence “, he nevertheless underlined in a message posted on the platform. But in a post on X, its owner, billionaire Elon Musk, took a more confrontational approach.

« Are you taking action once morest other social media? Because if you have these problems with this platform, and none are perfect, the others are much worse “, wrote the billionaire in particular.

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archyde news campaigns

With the ” alarming rise in misinformation and hate speech » on the platform, the European Commission also asked its services in November to suspend their campaigns on .

A first wave of advertisers had, in fact, taken the initiative in August following the media observatory Media Matters had reported advertisements from big names backed by a neo-Nazi account. Others joined them in December, including Apple and Disney, in reaction to a tweet from Elon Musk, which relayed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

Meta launches its social network Threads, rival of X, in the EU

Five months following the rest of the world, Meta (Facebook, Instagram) launched in the EU its social network Threads, direct rival of X (formerly Twitter), in a version adapted to comply with European laws. The American group put Threads online in July, but it delayed its arrival in the European Union in order to give itself time to study the impact of the continent’s regulations, which have already earned it several heavy financial sanctions.

With this platform associated with Instagram and with characteristics similar to those of X, Meta openly aims to compete with the network bought by Elon Musk, which is losing ground and advertisers, due to the controversial decisions of its new boss. With its 220 million users, however, it remains one of the most powerful global networks.

But Threads quickly racked up tens of millions of signups around the world this summer. In Europe, Meta, cautiously, wanted to ensure not to contravene the European regulation on digital markets (DMA), which toughens anti-competitive rules, as well as the regulation on personal data (GDPR).

« In order to comply with European regulations “, it therefore offers an additional option reserved for users from the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein: they can consult Threads without an Instagram account, with reduced functions, indicated to the AFP an Instagram manager.

(With AFP)