This Article is From Mar 17, 2022

Ukraine-Russia War: Twitter Has Responsibility To Ensure Access To Users, Says CEO

Parag Agrawals post has come at a time when Russia has either restricted or blocked several social media services amidst its war with Ukraine.

Advertisement
India News Edited by

Russia has either restricted or blocked several social media services amidst its war with Ukraine

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has said that the social media giant has “a responsibility” to keep information credible and prevent efforts to manipulate public opinion after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Agrawal has listed out five points that Twitter is committed to delivering “particularly during a crisis”. They are: Twitter would proactively enforce its rules; it will preserve access to Twitter; protect the privacy and safety of its users; prevent efforts to manipulate public conversation, and promote credible information.

Mr Agrawal's post has come at a time when Russia has either restricted or blocked several social media services amidst its war with Ukraine. Twitter has responded by launching a privacy-protected version of its site, known as the onion service, in a bid to bypass the censorship.

Mr Agrawal, who took over as Twitter's CEO in November last year, on Thursday also highlighted what Twitter has been doing since the war broke out in Ukraine on February 24.

He retweeted a post by Twitter's Global Policy Vice President Sinead McSweeney, who said, “Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have been expanding our work to protect the conversation happening on Twitter. Today, we're sharing key data and a comprehensive look at our work.”

Advertisement

In a blog post, Ms McSweeney said people in Ukraine and Russia have used Twitter to share critical information, find support, connect with one another, and raise their voices but Twitter was being restricted for some people in Russia.

“As we have said previously, we believe that a free and open Internet is vital and that people around the world should have the same access to information. We take our collective role, and the role of our service, seriously,” she added.

Advertisement

Ms McSweeney said Twitter will remove content if it is in violation of their rules. “As the situation in Ukraine evolves, we'll continue to iterate on our approach, focusing on reducing potential harm and surfacing reliable information,” she added.

Advertisement