UN urges Elon Musk to ensure Twitter respects human rights

Elon Musk has been urged by the UN to make respect for human rights central to Twitter after suggestions that as many as half of its more than 7,500 staff could be sacked.

Staff who face losing their jobs in the UK have been given until 9am on Tuesday to nominate a representative for a formal consultation about their employment.

Türk, a UN official who took up his post as the UN rights chief last month, urged Twitter to stand up for the rights to privacy and free expression to the fullest extent possible, under relevant laws, and to transparently report on government pressures that would infringe those rights.

But he warned over the viral spread of harmful disinformation, as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Türk added that the social media company should continue to bar such hatred on the platform, while every effort should be made to remove such content promptly.

Musk, whose account description on the social media platform reads Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator, has defended the mass sackings by saying employees would receive a three-month payment from the company, which he said was losing more than $4m a day.