April 28, 2023
Twitter has agreed with a greater number of government mandates for censorship or monitoring since Elon Musk took charge.
According to Twitter’s data reports, the firm has received 971 requests from governments and courts since October 27, 2022. Orders to delete problematic messages were among the requests, as were demands that Twitter reveal private data in order to identify anonymous accounts. Twitter completely responded with 808 of those demands, partially complied with 154 others, and did not respond to nine requests.
Twitter’s compliance rate was roughly 50% prior to Musk’s acquisition. However, under Musk, the rate has risen to more than 80%. The majority of requests came from Turkey, Germany, and India, with the Indian communication ministry directing Twitter to remove any postings that included video from a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the orders vary in scope and subject matter, they all involve the government requesting that Twitter remove content or reveal information about a user. Critics contend that Musk’s increased compliance rate contradicts his promises of a new era of free speech and independence from political bias.
The sources for this piece include an article in Restofworld.
