Ella Irwin, the head of trust and safety at Twitter, has announced her resignation, according to a statement to Reuters on Thursday. Her departure follows ongoing criticism regarding the platform’s insufficient measures to protect users from harmful content, a situation that has intensified since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company last October.
Irwin joined Twitter in June 2022 and took over the trust and safety team in November after the resignation of her predecessor, Yoel Roth. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing the moderation of content on the platform.
Upon inquiry, an email to Twitter was met with an automated response featuring a poop emoji. Irwin did not provide any additional comments, and Musk has yet to respond to requests for clarification.
This change in leadership occurs amid challenges for Twitter in maintaining its advertising partnerships, with companies expressing hesitation to associate with content deemed inappropriate.
Earlier this month, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, as the new CEO of Twitter.
Reports from Fortune indicated that Irwin’s internal Slack account had been deactivated, signaling a potential shift in her involvement with the company.
Since the takeover by Musk, Twitter has implemented significant cost-cutting measures, resulting in the dismissal of thousands of employees, many of whom were engaged in initiatives aimed at reducing harmful content, safeguarding electoral integrity, and providing accurate information on the platform.
Musk has also introduced a feature called Community Notes, allowing users to provide contextual information on tweets in an effort to address misinformation.
The company is currently under growing scrutiny from regulators concerning its content moderation policies. Recently, Twitter opted out of a voluntary commitment with the European Union to combat disinformation, reaffirming its intention to comply with forthcoming European internet regulations.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s industry chief, cautioned Twitter last week about the legal implications it may face in the EU after withdrawing from the voluntary agreement.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
