Elon Musk’s Twitter Receives 28-Day Ultimatum

Australia’s internet safety watchdog gave Elon Musk’s Twitter an ultimatum.

Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, warned Musk about the rise in complaints of “hate speech” in Australia.

The internet safety watchdog, the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to “keeping its citizens safer online,” said Twitter must explain what it’s doing to tackle online hate.

Twitter has 28 days to take action or face daily fines of AU$700,000 (USD$475,000) for every day it misses the deadline.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant took a combative tone, accusing Twitter of cutting too many moderation staff.

A similar notice was issued on CSA material earlier this year, though that was also given to other social companies, not just Twitter. https://t.co/wbR0LQKC0Y

— X Daily News (@xDaily) June 21, 2023

abc.net.au reports:

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said about one-third of the complaints her agency received about online hate involved content on Twitter, noting a surge in harmful posts since the Tesla chief bought the platform last year.

Twitter has 28 days to comply with the “please explain” notice, or face fines of almost $700,000 for every day it misses the deadline.

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Ms Inman Grant revealed she was particularly concerned about anti-Semitic content, and harmful posts directed at Indigenous Australians and members of the LGBTIQ+ community.

She cited research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate suggesting Twitter was repeatedly failing to act on harmful content posted by Twitter Blue accounts, the platform’s subscription service.

“We need accountability from these platforms and action to protect their users,” Grant said.

“And you cannot have accountability without transparency, and that’s what legal notices like this one are designed to achieve,” she added.

France 24 noted that Grant is a former Twitter employee:

Since Musk bought the platform in October 2022, he has slashed more than 80 percent of the global workforce, including many of the content moderators responsible for stamping out abuse.

In November, Musk declared a broad amnesty that allowed tens of thousands of suspended or banned accounts to rejoin the platform.

“Twitter appears to have dropped the ball on tackling hate,” said Inman Grant, who worked on cyber safety at the company after 17 years at Microsoft.

She said the watchdog was “far from being alone in its concern about increasing levels of toxicity and hate on Twitter, particularly targeting marginalised communities”.

“We are also concerned by numerous reports of content remaining widely accessible that is likely in breach of Twitter’s own terms of service.”

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Australia has spearheaded the global drive to regulate social media platforms, and it is not the first time that Inman Grant has publicly singled out Twitter.

She wrote to Musk in November, expressing fears that deep staff cuts would leave the company unable to meet Australian laws.

“Julie has extensive experience in the non-profit and government sectors and spent two decades working in senior public policy and safety roles in the tech industry at Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe,” Julie Inman Grant’s eSafety Commissioner profile states.

“At Twitter, she set up and drove the company’s policy, safety and philanthropy programs across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia,” it adds.

Grant also has close connections with the World Economic Forum.

From Grant’s eSafety Commissioner profile:

As Commissioner, Julie plays an important global role as Chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s Technical Working Group and as a Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. The Commissioner also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety and on their XR Ecosystem Governance Steering Committee on Building and Defining the Metaverse. Under her leadership, eSafety has joined forces with the White House Gender Policy Council and Government of Denmark on the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Harassment and Abuse.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023

Per the World Economic Forum:

Julie Inman Grant is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. In this role, Julie leads the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online. Julie has extensive experience in the non-profit and government sectors and spent two decades working in senior public policy and safety roles in the tech industry at Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe. The Commissioner’s career began in Washington DC, working in the US Congress and the non-profit sector before taking on a role at Microsoft. Julie’s experience at Microsoft spanned 17 years, serving as one of the company’s first and longest-standing government relations professionals, ultimately in the role of Global Director for Safety & Privacy Policy and Outreach. At Twitter, she set up and drove the company’s policy, safety & philanthropy programs across Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia. As Commissioner, Julie plays an important global role as Chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s Technical Working Group and as a Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. She was recently named one of Australia’s most influential women by the Australian Financial Review and a leading Australian in Foreign Affairs by the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2020, the World Economic Forum and Apolitical appointed the Commissioner as one of the #Agile50, the world’s most influential leaders revolutionising government. In 2021, Julie oversaw significant increases in the eSafety office’s budget, increased staffing levels and launched the global Safety by Design initiative. As Commissioner, she has led work to stand up novel and world-first regulatory regimes under the new Online Safety Act 2021, with implementation of a sweeping new set of reforms beginning on 23 January 2022. Commissioner Inman Grant was reappointed for a further 5-year term by the Australian Government in January 2022.