Twitter deletes suicide prevention function at the direction of Elon Mask, but criticism revives one after another



Posting on SNS can sometimes hurt people deeply. Since many young people think about suicide from heartless posts, Twitter has implemented a 'suicide prevention function' such as notifying users who are searching for suicide-related words to contact the suicide prevention hotline. rice field. However, Reuters reports that this feature was removed at the order of Elon Musk, who bought Twitter.

Exclusive: Twitter removes suicide prevention feature, says it's under revamp | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musk-orders-removal-twitter-suicide-prevention-feature-sources-say-2022-12-23/

Twitter restores suicide prevention feature after Reuters report | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-restores-suicide-prevention-feature-after-reuters-report-2022-12-24/

When searching for specific words, Twitter displays 'mental health,' 'HIV,' 'vaccines,' 'child sexual exploitation,' 'COVID-19,' 'gender-based violence,' 'natural disasters,' and 'expressions' at the top of the search screen. We developed a function called '#ThereIsHelp' that displays the contact information and URL of support organizations related to 'freedom of people'.

However, according to testimony obtained by Reuters from two Twitter officials, the feature has been removed by order of Mr. Musk. On Twitter, it is also pointed out that hate speech is increasing as Mr. Mask revived the Twitter account that had been frozen due to discrimination and hate remarks . On the other hand, Mr. Mask claims that hate speech is decreasing.

Researchers report that Twitter's hate speech is rapidly increasing after the acquisition of Elon Mask, Mr. Mask refutes as 'totally false' - GIGAZINE



Ella Irwin, head of Twitter's Trust & Safety division, told Reuters, ``As Twitter is in the process of fixing and revamping the prompts for the suicide prevention feature, the feature has been temporarily removed. Please look forward to the return of this feature next week.'

On the other hand, some experts have voiced their concerns. AIDS United where the URL of the related page was displayed at the top of the search screen by '#ThereIsHelp' when searching for HIV-related words, and '#ThereIsHelp' when searching for words related to freedom of expression iLaw, whose contacts were displayed at the top of the search screen, told Reuters that it was 'surprise' about the removal of '#ThereIsHelp'.

The AIDS United web page displayed by Twitter's ``#ThereIsHelp'' recorded an average of 70 PV per day until December 18, 2022, but after that it dropped to an average of 14 PV per day. It seems that

Alex Goldenberg, principal information analyst at the nonprofit Network Contagion Research Institute, points out that '#ThereIsHelp' has disappeared since December 22nd. In August 2022, Mr. Goldenberg announced a survey on Twitter that the number of monthly mentions of several terms related to self-harm increased by more than 500% year-on-year, and is concerned about the impact. In addition, Goldenberg said, ``If the removal of #ThereIsHelp signals a shift in policy that Twitter is no longer taking these kinds of issues seriously, this is very dangerous. It goes against Mr. Musk's pledge to prioritize safety.'

Fifteen hours after Reuters' report, Mr. Mask tweeted, ``No, this feature is still there,'' and it was later confirmed that ``#ThereIsHelp'' was revived.




However, Mr. Mask, who was criticized by users for deleting ``#ThereIsHelp'', also tweeted that ``Twitter can not prevent suicide,'' suggesting that the function is half-trusted.




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