Risk Level:
Summary:
Note: given the recent change in company ownership and operations, this report reflects the latest available information as of the most recent update, which is noted at the bottom of the scorecard. As of the latest update, Twitter had reversed suspensions for the Babylon Bee and other formerly banned accounts under previous leadership. Twitter then banned Kanye West for tweeting out an image of a swastika for purportedly inciting violence. Twitter suspended the account for Senator Steve Daines after he changed his profile picture to an image of him and his wife beside an antelope they had hunted. It quickly reversed the suspension after public outcry. Prior to Mr. Musk buying the company, Twitter had suspended many different accounts, sometimes without warning, for political, religious, and other reasons. Twitter has supported many ideological causes, like teaching gender-fluid ideology in elementary schools. The company does not have viewpoint protections for its employees. Twitter does not fund many ideological causes with corporate dollars, but employees have said it does not respect free speech. For these reasons, Twitter receives a "High Risk" rating.
Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.
Twitter kicked former President Donald Trump off of the platform during his presidency (1)(2). Twitter has censored or de-platformed conservatives at a much higher rate than liberals (3)(4). This trend is amplified by the political ideology of Twitter employees, over 98% of whom support Democrats (5). Twitter has also censored a variety of conservative federal government officials, including the head of Customs and Border Protection (4)(5). While Twitter censors people with conservative viewpoints in the U.S., it has not censored terrorist accounts. (6) Twitter has banned many other accounts as well (7). Investigative journalism accounts revealed that, according to a Twitter employee, “Twitter does not believe in free speech” (8)(9). Twitter has also received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign (10). Among other requirements, this means that Twitter has pledged to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies.
After buying the company in October 2022, new CEO Elon Musk announced the reinstatement of Jordan Peterson, the Babylon Bee, and Kathie Griffin, among other reversals (11). Mr. Musk has said that Twitter’s new policy is “freedom of speech not freedom of reach” (12). Twitter reversed its ban on former President Donald Trump as well (13). Twitter retains the right to censor/moderate content on its platform and has said that its content moderation policy has not changed (14). The EU has threatened to ban Twitter if it does not abide by its strict content moderation policies (15). Twitter suspended Kanye West on December 2, 2022, after he tweeted out an image of a swastika and violated the company’s rules against inciting violence (16). Twitter suspended the account for Senator Steve Daines on February 7, 2023 after he changed his profile picture to an image of him and his wife beside an antelope they had hunted (17). Later that day, Twitter reversed its suspension after public outcry. On March 1, Twitter briefly suspended the personal account of U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) without explanation (18).
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
Twitter has supported the Equality Act while denouncing legislation like Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act or laws to keep boys out of girls’ sports (1)(2). Twitter opposed state-level election reforms (3). In 2019, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that anti-abortion laws are “bad for business” (4).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.
Twitter terminated its PAC in 2020; the PAC is no longer active (1). Twitter does not contribute to ideological political groups.
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 24, 2023
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