- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
Elon Musk's X tells watchdog it has shed 1,000 'safety' staff
Elon Musk's X has shed more than 1,000 staff globally from teams responsible for stopping abusive content online, according to new figures released Thursday by Australia's online watchdog.
Australia's eSafety Commission said these "deep cuts" and the reinstatement of thousands of banned accounts had created a "perfect storm" for the spread of harmful content.
The regulator has in recent months zeroed in on X -- formerly known as Twitter -- previously saying Musk's takeover coincided with a spike in "toxicity and hate" on the platform.
Using Australia's groundbreaking Online Safety Act, the eSafety Commission has obtained a detailed breakdown of software engineers, content moderators and other safety staff working at X.
Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, a former Twitter employee, said it was the first time these figures had been made public.
They showed 1,213 specialist "trust and safety staff", including contractors, had left X since it was acquired by Musk in October 2022.
This included 80 percent of the software engineers focussed on "trust and safety issues", said Inman Grant.
"To take 80 percent of these specialist engineers away, it would be like Volvo -- known for its safety standards -- eradicating all of their designers or engineers," she told AFP.
"You've got a perfect storm. You're drastically decreasing your defences, and you're introducing repeat offenders back onto the platform."
Australia has spearheaded the global push to regulate social media, forcing tech companies to outline how they are tackling issues such as hate speech and child sexual abuse.
But attempts to exercise these powers have occasionally been met with indifference.
In October last year, the eSafety Commission slapped X with an Aus$610,500 (US$388,000) fine, saying it had failed to show how it was cracking down on child pornography.
But X ignored the deadline to pay the fine, before launching ongoing legal action to have it overturned.
X did not reply to AFP's request for comment, instead sending an automated response that read "busy now, please check back later".
U.Ndiaye--CPN