
Musk Says Cleansing Twitter of Child Sex Exploitation Is ‘Priority #1’
By Movieguide® Staff
Aside from Musk’s stance on protecting free speech, another major change that the new CEO plans to enact is a direct attack on sexual exploitative material on the social media site.
Musk called removing child sexual exploitation content from the platform “priority #1.”
Before Musk’s acquisition of the company, sexual abuse survivors and advocates fighting against sex trafficking slammed Twitter for not removing sexually exploitive content when victims asked.
Eliza Bleu, a survivor of human trafficking and an advocate for victims, previously tweeted about Twitter’s silence despite evidence that a 13-year-old boy was being sexually exploited on the app.
According to Business Insider, Twitter did not act for nine days and only removed the content after the involvement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent, Business Insider reports.
That was back in September. Now, with Musk at the helm, Bleu and other advocates have hope that Twitter will no longer be a safe place for traffickers and predators.
Despite his short tenure as owner and CEO of Twitter, Musk already “cleaned out” the app’s most popular hashtags, that were used to sell child sexual abuse material.
I said that I would update, here is an update. My hope is that the survivors get some answers. https://t.co/8j6ndnw5Ay
— Eliza (@elizableu) November 23, 2022
The Tesla CEO also added a “report” option when other users find CSAM on Twitter.
However, an advocate site called Tesmanian said that even with Bleu’s help, cleansing Twitter of CSAM is no easy task.
The site reported:
Twitter’s concrete steps to combat content containing CSE material were taken less than three weeks after Musk took over the platform. This is an extremely encouraging signal and demonstrates his commitment to solving the existing problem. In no time, Musk made possible what the old leadership had not done for ten years.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done. Solving an existing problem is not as easy as it might seem at first glance, and there are many pitfalls in this process. As someone who works intensively to combat the problem and has knowledge in this area, Eliza can give advice on how to clear CSE material on Twitter and hopes to share her knowledge with Musk. In addition, she believes that the technologies and AI that Tesla is developing can help solve the problem globally, and not just within the platform.
Movieguide® previously reported on Musk’s Twitter takeover:
As more disgruntled Twitter users vow to leave the app, CEO Elon Musk recently reinstated previously banned accounts like former President Donald Trump and the satire site, BABYLON BEE.
Since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the social media app, he has emphasized his focus on free speech.
Musk’s stance on free speech and decision to reinstate several high profile accounts infuriated some users, who quickly announced their exit from Twitter.
Donald Trump, The Babylon Bee, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Kathy Griffin and Project Veritas, were among the suspended accounts that made a return under Musk.
According to a poll, nearly 52% of 15 million users agreed with Musk in allowing Donald Trump back on the platform.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted.