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Statement: CEJI/Facing Facts is freezing its Twitter account

21/12/2022

The latest developments at Twitter have led the Facing Facts Secretariat to reevaluate its presence on the platform. We condemn the latest actions taken by Twitter’s leadership in actively spreading and failing to contain disinformation and hate speech. The platform has seen an increase of hate speech after reinstating abusive accounts and dissolving the Trust and Safety Council, which advised on online safety, human and digital rights. 

Due to these circumstances we have decided that this platform poses a threat to our followers’ safety, which is why we will freeze our account temporarily. If Twitter does not commit to implementing policies and practices that promote the safety, expression, and participation of its users, we will shut down our account permanently.

We urge the European Commission to take actions as Twitter is failing to comply with the Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online (agreed in May 2016) and the Digital Services Act, which aims to protect users’ rights by creating a safer digital space. The Digital Services Act is directly applicable across the EU and entered into force on November 16th, 2022 after being adopted by the Council of the European Union.