UN expresses concern to Musk, urging "Twitter management to focus on human rights"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] The United Nations has expressed concerns that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who has been undertaking layoffs of senior executives and staff following his acquisition of Twitter, should adopt a human rights-centered management approach.

Volker T?rk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized in a letter published on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) website on the 5th (local time) that "human rights must be at the core of management at Twitter under your leadership."

Immediately after acquiring Twitter, CEO Musk dismissed former CEO Parag Agrawal and other previous executives, and pushed forward with layoffs of employees without proper prior notice, drawing criticism. Commissioner T?rk publicly expressed concern over Musk’s actions.

Referring to reports that Musk had fired a significant number of staff from Twitter’s human rights and artificial intelligence (AI) ethics departments, he pointed out, "From my perspective, the start is not encouraging." He added, "I am writing this letter out of concern and worry about Twitter’s role in the digital public square," and stressed, "I want to share fundamental principles from a human rights perspective with you and your team, and urge you to center these principles going forward."

He then mentioned six key points: ▲ protection of freedom of expression worldwide ▲ appropriate regulation of freedom of expression ▲ blocking hate content that incites discrimination, hostility, or violence ▲ ensuring transparency ▲ protecting personal information ▲ employing experts in various languages and cultures. Commissioner T?rk stated, "Like all other companies, Twitter must understand the harm its platform can cause and take steps to address it," adding, "Respect for human rights must be the safeguard against derailment when using and improving the platform."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.