Twitter’s head of safety and content moderation has resigned, marking the second executive to quit the company since Elon Musk’s takeover in October.
According to Reuters, Ella Irwin announced on Thursday she had left the popular social media company – after serving just seven months in the role. She reportedly has not provided a reason for her departure.
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Irwin was in charge of the team that combatted misinformation on Twitter, as well as seeking and removing harmful content. However, the thresholds of moderation have moved greatly since Musk took over.
Since his takeover in October, Musk has dropped over 50% of Twitter’s workforce equating to around 7,600 employees. This included most of the people working in the moderation and safety team.
During his first two months as CEO, Musk ordered the unblocking of many controversial figures; including Andrew Tate, Donald Trump and Kanye West.
Irwin’s departure comes a day after Twitter owner Musk publicly slammed a content moderation decision to restrict viewership of a video following misgendering allegations.
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By GlobalDataResponding to a tweet detailing the moderation, Musk tweeted: “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed.
“Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.”
During her time in the role, Irwin consistently defended the company’s decisions and actions since Musk’s takeover.
The news of Irwin’s resignation comes as the company faces increasing scrutiny for stronger moderation methods from regulators.
Last week, Twitter pulled out of a voluntary agreement with the EU that aimed to combat misinformation. The company claimed it will continue to comply with EU rules.
Thierry Breton, EU industry chief, previously said that Twitter would not be able to avoid legal obligations in the EU if it pulled out of the voluntary agreement.
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