The Australian government is accusing Twitter of failing to handle hate — and threatening stiff fines if the company doesn’t quickly explain what it intends to do about online hate.
The Australian government has warned US messaging service Twitter for lax measures against hate speech since its takeover by Elon Musk. Internet Regulation Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Twitter appeared to be failing to deal with hate.
About a third of all complaints eSafety received about online hate concern Twitter — the microblog has fewer users than TikTok, Facebook or Instagram. The site deleted 62,000 accounts under Musk, including those of people who expressed Nazi rhetoric.
Australia demands accountability and transparency
The company is threatening fines of A$700,000 per day if Twitter does not provide information within 28 days about what it is doing to “combat online hate”.
“We need accountability from these sites and steps to protect their users, and there is no accountability without transparency, which is what legal notices like this are trying to achieve,” Grant explained. Twitter declined to comment.
Tesla boss Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” took over the texting service in October 2022. After firing top officials and several employees, the amnesty of banned users such as former US President Donald Trump caused a stir. With his decisions, the billionaire scared off a lot of advertisers.
In early June, trust and safety chief Ella Irwin left her job as Twitter’s content moderator. Twitter previously opted out of a voluntary EU code of conduct to combat misinformation. This requires companies to take action against the spread of fake news and to report on progress regularly.
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