Twitter says it removed 6.5 million pieces of content in H1 2022 before Elon Musk takeover

Twitter said on Tuesday it was forcing users to delete more than 6.5 million pieces of content in the first half of 2022, before the social media platform was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk, a 29% increase from compared to the second half of 2021.

Twitter revealed the number of content removals in a blog post on the same day. The European Union said the social media platform would be among 19 tech companies subject to landmark new rules that require them to share data with authorities, do more to tackle misinformation and misconduct. external and independent audit.

Failure to comply with the rules – some of the world’s strictest regulations on online platforms – could result in fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban on operating in the EU, according to the company’s website. European Commission.

Before Musk bought Twitter in October and cut around 80% of its staff, Twitter normally published semi-annual reports on its Transparency Center website, detailing information such as the number of suspended accounts and the number of government requests received for data.

Twitter’s update on Tuesday took the form of a short blog post, and the company said it would give an update on its “way forward for transparency reporting” later this year.

The publication of transparency reports is one of the requirements of the new EU internet rules.

The company said it received 53,000 legal requests from governments in the first half of 2022 to remove certain content, with Japan, South Korea, Turkey and India submitting the most requests.

Twitter did not disclose how many requests it complied with.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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