MPs probe X official on whether ‘abhorrent’ racist, misogynistic posts violate rules

The House of Commons science, innovation and technology committee has heard oral evidence from TikTok, Meta and X officials as part of its inquiry into misinformation and harmful algorithms. 

The session saw MPs question senior representatives of the social media platforms on a range of topics, including whether their algorithms may spread misleading content and how they moderate this content. 

In one exchange, Wifredo Fernandez, X’s senior director for government affairs, defended the “amnesty programme” that saw individuals like Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate allowed back onto the platform.

In response to a question from Labour’s Paul Waugh, Fernandez said: “In late 2022, we instituted an amnesty programme that allowed accounts who had previously been suspended to reapply for reinstatement, so long as their violations did not violate the law and those accounts were included in that programme.”

Waugh commented: “During the [summer] riots, Tommy Robinson was regularly tweeting that Islam was a mental health issue. He shared videos of the disorder – encouraged people to join in the disorder.

“Would that be allowed again?”

Fernandez replied: “I can’t speak to that specific post.”

Labour MP Emily Darlington was another to question Fernandez over X’s content policies. She referred to a litany of malicious, racist, anti-semitic and misogynistic posts, which Fernandez admitted were “abhorrent”.

Responding to a post that expressed a desire to “shoot” the prime minister, Fernandez insisted X’s teams would “review that”.

Asked by committee chair Chi Onuwurah whether X is a safer environment since Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022, Fernandez said it was.

He added: “We have a very dedicated and diligent safety team.”

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