Human Rights Experts Denounce Elon Musk's 'Ominous Start' to Twitter

Human rights advocates are denouncing Twitter owner Elon Musk's decision to fire the social media platform's human rights department.

Musk on Friday terminated thousands of Twitter employees, roughly half of the company's workforce of 7,500. Many of the now-former employees say they were given no notice before being abruptly let go via email. Musk is facing multiple lawsuits due to the mass firing, which potentially violated a California labor law.

Workers with responsibilities that included content curation, machine learning ethics and communication were among those fired this week, according to Reuters. Former Twitter employee Shannon Raj Singh, who was the platform's human rights counsel, said in a tweet that she was fired alongside her entire team on Friday.

"Yesterday was my last day at Twitter: the entire Human Rights team has been cut from the company," tweeted Singh. "I am enormously proud of the work we did to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights [UNGP], to protect those at-risk in global conflicts & crises including Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine."

"And to defend the needs of those particularly at risk of human rights abuse by virtue of their social media presence, such as journalists & human rights defenders," she continued.

Human rights groups and experts soon expressed alarm at the elimination Singh's team, denouncing Musk for abandoning the company's "responsibility" to protect rights.

"Twitter is instituting company-wide layoffs, including the elimination of its entire human rights team," Human Rights Watch tweeted. "Companies have a responsibility to employ people who are essential to the protection of people's rights — this includes content moderators, trust and safety teams, and others."

"This is an ominous start to Twitter under Elon Musk," tweeted Tirana Hassan, interim executive director for Human Rights Watch. "The right thing to do at a time where #humanrights and facta are under assault would be to grow your human rights team not irradiate it. #TwitterLayoffs"

"These layoffs are deeply, deeply concerning," Human Rights Watch technology director Frederike Kaltheuner tweeted. "From Ethiopia, to the ongoing war to Ukraine. to the upcoming US midterm election - specially during moments of crisis platforms have an additional responsibility to ensure that they respect people's rights."

"Many LGBTQI+ persons and organisations like us constantly experience homophobic threats and attacks," human rights group Rightify Ghana tweeted. "A human rights team at Twitter HQ would be the best to act on such activities on this platform. No matter who owns Twitter, human rights must be protected"

"This is grim news," human rights lawyer and former soccer player Francis Awaritefe tweeted in response to Singh's tweet. "The UNGPs is a critical tool for an enterprise to 'know and show' it respects the human rights of those using or are affected by the use of its platforms. Musk's firing of Twitter's human rights team is an act of vandalism which will cause incalculable harm."

"Twitter had built a strong human rights team," tweeted lawyer David Kaye, former special rapporteur for the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council. "They helped make the platform a better place for everyone on and off the platform. cutting it will have a major impact on especially high risk users globally."

Lara Wolters, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, warned that Musk's decision could have "horrific" consequences. She vowed to force Twitter to adhere to European Union standards through legislation.

"Bad decision," Wolters tweeted. "Tech platforms have a responsibility to respect human rights, with horrific effects when they fail to do so. Twitter will have to play by EU rules, and on Monday I'll be proposing tech as a high-risk sector in upcoming EU Human Rights #duediligence legislation."

Musk tweeted about "massive revenue drop" at Twitter on Friday, blaming the decline on "activist groups pressuring advertisers," which he accused of "trying to destroy free speech in America."

Groups like the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League have called for advertisers to boycott Twitter over concerns that Musk will allow the platform to become a haven for hate speech and right-wing trolls under the guise of "free speech."

Newsweek has reached out to Twitter and the U.N. Human Rights Council for comment.