October 11, 2023
X, formerly known as Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has canceled her appearance at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference next week, citing the need to focus on platform safety during a global crisis. The crisis is likely a reference to the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in a flood of horrific videos being posted to Twitter.
This cancellation follows Yaccarino’s chaotic and tense appearance at the Code Conference, where she deflected most questions, especially those related to comments made by former Twitter trust and safety head Yoel Roth. Roth had criticized Twitter’s decision to remove headlines from link cards, a move that was reportedly Musk’s idea.
Yaccarino’s cancellation also comes amid reports that Twitter is considering subscription tiers that would vary the number of ads shown to users. This move could be seen as an attempt to boost revenue, as advertisers have been spending less on Twitter since Musk took over.
It is also possible that Twitter is considering subscription tiers in an effort to address concerns about platform safety. By giving users the option to pay for a subscription that removes ads, Twitter could reduce the amount of harmful content that users are exposed to.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheVerge.
