Twitter formed a panel to advise it on speech, abuse and safety issues. The panel called Trust and Safety Council has 40 members. The council will be part of a new strategy to ensure that people can feel safe when they express themselves on Twitter, said Patricia Cartes, head of global policy outreach.
“As we develop products, policies and programs, our Trust and Safety Council will help us tap into the expertise and input of organizations at the intersection of these issues more efficiently and quickly,” she said.
Trust & Safety Council composition
- Safety advocates, scholars, and researchers focused on children, media literacy, digital citizenship and efforts that promote greater compassion and empathy on the Internet;
- Grassroots advocacy groups that use Twitter to build movements and momentum; and
- Community organizations that work to prevent abuse, harassment and bullying, as well as those involved in mental health and suicide prevention.
“Twitter is trying to put a little bit more structure and formal process around work they’ve been doing, like a lot of other social media companies, in getting input from advocacy organizations and civil rights and civil liberties groups about what Twitter’s content policies are and how those policies affect their users,” said Emma Llansó, director of the Center for Democracy & Technology’s Free Expression Project and a member of the council.
“Instead of doing a lot of one-off conversations or ad hoc discussions when an issue reaches a boiling point, Twitter will have something a little bit more consistent and regular in place to consult about policies and ideas that they are considering or working on,” Emma Llansó told TechNewsWorld.
The council will put things in order on the social media platform because it will be acting as a board.
“We’ve been doing a lot work for a long time on issues of hate speech and hate online, and the best way to respond to it is to balance respect for freedom of expression and creation of a place where people can communicate without being harassed and bullied. Twitter, as have other companies, have had issues with that, and they’re just looking for people who have thought about it and can help them think through some of the challenges.”Steve Freeman, director of legal affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, said.
The main aim of the council is to create a productive free speech space where every user can interact with each other without being excluded or offended.
