Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Twitter Says World Governments Broke Records in Demanding Content Removal in 2021

Twitter Says World Governments Broke Records in Demanding Content Removal in 2021

Twitter, like other Big Tech social networks, has in recent years been subjected to criticism and legislative pressure in an ever-increasing number of countries. Twitter has also been criticized in the US for alleged political censorship, such as suspending the account of President Trump a year ago.

Government demands to have content taken down from Twitter reached an all-time high in the first half of 2021, the social media giant revealed on Tuesday.

In a blog post by the network's Transparency Center, Twitter noted that between January 1 and June 30, governments issued 43,387 legal demands for content to be removed from 196,878 accounts, the highest number since the company started to release transparency reports in 2012.

"We’re facing unprecedented challenges as governments around the world increasingly attempt to intervene and remove content," the company's vice president of global public policy and philanthropy Sinéad McSweeney is quoted as saying. "This threat to privacy and freedom of expression is a deeply worrying trend that requires our full attention."

Interestingly enough, the top five countries making such requests were Japan, Russia, Turkey, India, and South Korea, which accounted for 95% of all demands for removal globally. And in response to 54% of the requests, the platform "withheld" access to content or asked accounts to remove posts.

According to the report, with 3,026 requests, the US became the single greatest source of government information requests, accounting for 24% of the total number the company received during the most recent reporting period. These demands accounted for 27% of all identified accounts from across the world, and Twitter complied with 68% of these US information requests, in whole or in part.

Twitter underscored that it partially disclosed or did not share information in response to 64% of global government information requests, a drop of 9% from the previous reporting period.

According to Twitter's transparency report, government demands to preserve account information decreased by 4% from the previous reporting period, which was the last six months of 2020. The US received 57% of the petitions for preservation.

Apart from government requests, Twitter compelled account holders to delete 4.7 million Tweets that violated its rules. The social networking giant stated that prior to removal, 68% of the Tweets had fewer than 100 impressions, with another 24% obtaining between 100 and 1,000 impressions.

Twitter emphasized that during that time period, impressions on these removed Tweets accounted for less than 0.1% of all impressions for all Tweets.

Moreover, Twitter suspended 44,974 unique accounts for promoting terrorism and violent organizations in the first half of 2021, claiming that 93% of those accounts were detected and removed proactively. In general, however, the number of violating accounts on Twitter continues to decline, the report noted, which is attributed to the changing behavior of these actors combined with continuing advancements in the company's defenses in this area.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
×