Hannah Feeney
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has sent shock waves across the world as staff, users and commentators have reacted to his plans for the company.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, recently added his perspective to the ongoing saga. Turk urged Musk to prioritise human rights at Twitter in its new era under his leadership.
Turk wrote an open letter to Musk calling on him to recognise Twitter’s place in the socio-political landscape. Having become a central pillar of our communication, the company ought to do its bit to prevent the harm it can cause, according to Turk.
Dear @ElonMusk, we both care about free speech. Here's a thread with some thoughts on how you can protect #FreeSpeech (and other rights too!) on @Twitter 👇 https://t.co/g6GnpoBimM
— Volker Türk (@volker_turk) November 5, 2022
In his letter, the UN human rights commissioner outlined 6 key principles that Musk should adopt in his management of the platform. These included “free speech” and most glaringly, zero-tolerance for “hatred that incites discrimination, hostility and violence.”
Turk’s central concern is the rise of misinformation. His letter draws attention to the rise of “fake news” during the COVID-19 pandemic. He calls upon Musk to ensure his company puts measures in place to prevent the continuation of this harmful trend.
Others have warned against a lackadaisical approach to misinformation too. Recently, World Health Organisation (WHO) official, Mike Ryan, publicly discussed his concerns about the new CEO’s approach to the threat of widespread misinformation.
The UN’s intervention comes after the new Twitter CEO fired the entire human rights team and several staff in the ethical AI team.
Musk’s moves have been interpreted by many as a rejection of the company’s moral responsibility and a shift to a purist view of free speech. Musk also made his bid for the company with a public agenda of promoting and expanding ‘free speech’. According to Musk, content moderation on the platform has gone too far in recent years.
Warning that “free speech is not a free pass”, Turk critiques Musk’s approach to the issue. Whilst free speech is a right and ought to be protected, it should not come at the expense of others according to Turk. For example, the rights of minorities should not be threatened in the name of ‘free speech’.
There is no place for #HateSpeech on #Twitter. Human rights law is clear – #FreeSpeech does not extend to hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence. Twitter’s policy barring such speech is a must-have. (3/8)
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) November 5, 2022
The views of the two men represent two fundamentally differing world views. Only time will tell whether the new CEO of Twitter will be forced to concede. For the UN, and officials such as Turk, it is essential that human rights are considered and the moral weight of managing the platform is understood and invested in.
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