New York: Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo had secretly ordered employees to filter out abusive and hateful replies to US President Barack Obama during the May 2015 #AskPOTUS town hall meeting, the media reported on Friday.
According to a report, Costolo asked employees to deploy an algorithm which was built in-house to filter out abusive language directed at Obama.
"Another source said the media partnerships team also manually censored tweets, noting that Twitter's public quality-filtering algorithms were inconsistent," the report added.
The decision was kept secret from senior employees who followed Twitter as long-standing commitment to free speech.
After a month Obama's town hall meeting, Costolo stepped down as CEO.
In an exit interview with The Guardian, he defended Twitter's commitment to free speech, saying that "I will say directly that I think regulation is a threat to free speech".
In its early years, Twitter took several stands against censorship, even in the WikiLeaks case.
According to a report, Costolo asked employees to deploy an algorithm which was built in-house to filter out abusive language directed at Obama.
"Another source said the media partnerships team also manually censored tweets, noting that Twitter's public quality-filtering algorithms were inconsistent," the report added.
After a month Obama's town hall meeting, Costolo stepped down as CEO.
Advertisement
In its early years, Twitter took several stands against censorship, even in the WikiLeaks case.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams Leaving Board No Salary, but $68,506 in Compensation for Twitter CEO Dorsey Twitter Names PepsiCo CFO Johnston, Martha Lane Fox to Board Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Omar Abdullah On What Should Be J&K Assembly's 1st Move After Polls Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case Telangana Man Dies In US, Family Asks Government To Help Bring Back Body JAM 2025: All You Need To Know About Joint Admission Test For Masters Rajasthan Bans Sharp-Edged Objects In School After 15-Year-Old Stabbed Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.