Figures obtained by Big Brother Watch show that 58% of posts referred by the government’s Counter “Disinformation” Unit to Twitter for censorship do not breach Twitter’s rules.
An email correspondence between the civil liberties NGO and Twitter reveals that the tech firm was contacted several times between November 2020 to February 2023 with requests to act on posts about the pandemic and vaccines. The tech firm’s Trust and Safety team found that over half of these posts did not violate their rules.
Sarah Connolly who heads the Counter Disinformation Unit stated that the CDU had, at some points, “hourly contact” with Twitter.
Silkie Carlo, director for Big Brother Watch said:
“This shows that the CDU’s zeal for censorship was so extreme that they were not only flagging lawful speech for censorship but speech that couldn’t even be found to violate highly restrictive Silicon Valley content rules.
“This casts serious doubt on the legitimacy and lawfulness of the unit’s activities, which are ongoing. The Counter-Disinformation Unit should be immediately suspended and subjected to an inquiry, to ensure public resources are being used appropriately and Britons’ right to free speech is being protected.”
The Telegraph – Twitter refused majority of removal requests from Covid spying unit