X to finally hire 100 employees for content moderation team

Elon Musk-run X is reportedly hiring 100 full-time employees for a new trust and safety office in Austin, Texas after Musk had disbanded the trust and safety teams globally after acquiring the company. The team would reportedly focus on content related to child sexual exploitation moderation (CSEM), as the platform faces scrutiny. X CEO Linda Yaccarino is scheduled to depose before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 31 regarding X’s handling of CSEM. Also Read: Elon Musk Reveals Big Gaming Plans: xAI To Launch ‘AI-Generated Game’ By 2026

According to reports, the X team “will also help with other moderation enforcement, such as those forbidding hate speech”. The company has posted job listings for such roles, saying moderators will investigate issues like “spam and fraud” and provide customer support.“At X, we have zero tolerance for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), and we are determined to make X inhospitable for actors who seek to exploit minors. In 2023, we made clear that our top priority was tackling CSE online,” the company said in its latest blog post. Also Read: Asus ROG Xbox Ally, ROG Xbox Ally X Gaming Handhelds Launched In India: Price, Features, Availability

The announcement comes soon after a set of sexually explicit fake photos of musician Taylor Swift went viral on the platform. The photos were not removed even after several hours, according to some users. Also Read: Asus ROG Xbox Ally, ROG Xbox Ally X Pre-Orders Begin In India Starting Today: Check Specs, Launch Date, and More

“We are also building a Trust and Safety centre of excellence in Austin, Texas, to hire more in-house agents so we can keep accelerating our impact,” the company announced.

In 2024, the company said it would improve detection mechanisms to find more reportable content on the platform to report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). In 2023, X suspended 12.4 million accounts for violating its CSE policies. This is up from 2.3 million accounts in 2022. “In 2024, we will continue our strong investment in this critical area and expand our efforts to educate our users about the importance of helping us to combat child sexual exploitation online,” said the company.

— Written with inputs from IANS