United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk on Saturday issued an open letter to the new CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk and urged him to “ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter,” following the reports of layoff of entire human rights team of the microblogging site.
“In short, I urge you to ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter under your leadership,” Turk said in a letter. “Twitter is part of a global revolution that has transformed how we communicate. But I write with concern and apprehension about our digital public square and Twitter’s role in it,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in the letter.
“Like all companies, Twitter needs to understand the harms associated with its platform and take steps to address them. Respect for our shared human rights should set the guardrails for the platform’s use and evolution,” he added.
In his letter, Turk urged Twitter to stand up for the rights to privacy and free expression to the full extent possible, under relevant laws, and to transparently report on Government requests that would infringe those rights.
The viral spread of harmful disinformation, like that seen during the Covid-19 pandemic in relation to vaccines, results in real-world harm.