X Corp. Cuts 30% of Trust and Safety Staff, Australian Online Safety Watchdog Reports

X Corp, owner of Twitter, has cut its global trust and safety staff by 30% and reduced safety engineers by 80% since Elon Musk took over, according to Australia’s eSafety Commission. The commission revealed that X reinstated 6,100 previously banned accounts, including 194 for hateful conduct, without additional scrutiny. This reduction in safety staff combined with banned account holders returning could make the platform more toxic and less safe, risking brand reputation and advertising revenue. X missed deadlines to provide requested information and was fined for failing to explain how it was tackling child sexual exploitation content.