Twitter dissolves its trust and safety council

Twitter Inc dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, a group of volunteers formed in 2016 to advise the social media platform on the site’s decisions, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.

About half of the social network’s staff – some 3,700 employees – have been laid off since it Elon Musk took over the company and introduced a cost-cutting campaign.

More than 1,000 have resigned, including Yoel Roth, the company’s former head of trust and security.

“As Twitter moves into a new phase, we are re-evaluating how best to bring outside perspectives into our policy and product development work. As part of this process, we have decided that the Trust and Safety Council is not the best structure to do so,” says an email sent to members of the Trust and Security Council, seen by Reuters.

The group’s Twitter page has been removed.

The council was made up of various civil rights organizations, academics and other bodies that advocated for security and advised Twitter as it developed products, programs and standards, according to a web archive for the page.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

“Our work to make Twitter a safe and informative place will be faster and more aggressive than ever, and we continue to welcome your ideas on how to achieve this goal,” the email from Twitter reads.

The Twitter email came less than an hour before board members were scheduled to meet with company executives via Zoom, the Washington Post previously reported.

Last week, three council members resigned citing concerns for the safety of Twitter users.

Research shows that contrary to what Elon Musk claims, the safety and well-being of Twitter users is in decline,” Council member Anne Collier tweeted.

Musk had responded on the micro-messaging site accusing council members of refusing to take action against child exploitation, a claim the former CEO Jack Dorsey He said it was “fake”.