(Sydney) Australia gave Twitter 28 days on Thursday to show the platform is serious about tackling online hate or face a fine of nearly half a million dollars for every day it is late.
In a press release from the Australian online security agency (eSafety), its manager Julie Inman Grant threatened the social network with a daily fine of 475,000 US dollars if it exceeded the deadline.
According to her, a third of complaints filed in Australia for hate speech online refer to comments published on the blue bird platform.
“Twitter seems to be falling short when it comes to fighting hate,” said Ms. Inman Grant, a former employee of the social network.
The Australian agency “is far from alone in worrying about increasing levels of toxicity and hate on Twitter, particularly against marginalized communities,” she said.
“We hold these platforms to account and take action to protect their users,” she said.
Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the social network since October 2022, has fired with a vengeance, including many content moderators responsible for combating abuse.
In November, he announced an “amnesty” for banned accounts and an end to the fight against COVID-19 misinformation. Tens of thousands of suspended or banned accounts have been reinstated.
“Twitter seems to have let down the fight against hate,” said Inman Grant, who worked in cybersecurity at the American giant after 17 years at Microsoft.
“We’re also concerned about numerous reports of content that remains widely accessible and likely violates Twitter’s Terms of Service.”
Australia is at the forefront of policy regulating social media platforms, and this is not the first time that Julie Inman Grant has publicly attacked Twitter.
As early as November, she had written to Mr. Musk warning him that a sharp staffing cut would render Twitter unable to comply with Australian law.
Indigenous journalist Stan Grant, one of Australia’s most respected media personalities, announced in May that he had filed a complaint with Twitter for being the subject of “racist slurs”.
In mid-June, the biggest American record labels claimed hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid rights from Twitter, accusing the social network of not having acted sufficiently against the improper use of songs on its platform.