X, the social media company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is rapidly expanding its content moderation efforts targeting child sexual abuse material.

The company plans to hire 100 new content reviewers in Austin, Texas, by the end of 2023, X announced this week.

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• X is opening a new content moderation center in Austin focused on fighting child abuse material

• The goal is to hire 100 moderators for this facility by the end of 2023

• This effort comes ahead of X’s CEO testifying before the Senate about combating online child exploitation

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Elon Musk’s X Aims to Ramp Up Fight Against Online Child Abuse

The new hires will work out of a dedicated “Trust and Safety Center of Excellence” focused on identifying and removing child abuse content across X’s platforms. 

The ramped-up efforts come ahead of a U.S. Senate hearing on online child sexual exploitation scheduled for January 31st.

Stepped Up Enforcement

According to X executive Joe Benarroch, the company has already started recruiting and hiring for the 100 new positions. 

The goal is to have the entire content moderation team in place by the end of the year, pending the availability of qualified candidates.

The​​​​​ ​​​increased ​​headcount ​will ​​allow ​​X ​​​​to ​​strengthen ​enforcement ​​​of ​​​​its ​​​​existing ​​​policies ​​​prohibiting ​child ​​​sexual ​​​​​abuse ​​material ​​​and ​​​other ​​harmful ​​​​​​​​​​​content. 

As Benarroch noted, building an effective team requires finding “the right talent.”

The company said it suspended 12.4 million accounts in 2023 for child sexual exploitation policy violations. 

That’s a significant increase from 2.3 million account suspensions in 2022.

Ongoing Controversy

The ramped-up moderation comes amid ongoing controversy about X’s content policies under Musk’s ownership. 

Critics have accused the platform of lax enforcement since Musk acquired it in late 2022. 

At​​ ​​​​the ​​same ​​​time​​, ​Musk ​​has ​​advocated ​​​for ​​minimizing ​restrictions ​​on ​​​​legal ​​​​​​​​​speech.

Other social media CEOs testifying alongside X at next week’s Senate hearing include Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Evan Spiegel of Snap, and leaders from TikTok and Discord. 

The ​​​​hearing ​​​marks ​​an ​​​effort ​​by ​​lawmakers ​to ​​push ​​​platforms ​​to ​​combat child ​​​abuse ​​content ​​better​​​.​

​

X’s ​​Yaccarino ​said ​​​​the ​company ​​is ​eager ​​to ​​cooperate ​​with ​​​​policymakers​​. 

​“​​We ​​share ​​lawmakers’ ​goal ​​of ​​combating ​​child ​sexual ​​​abuse ​material ​​online​​,” ​​she ​commented​​​​​.

Fighting Abuse More Broadly

In addition to battling child sexual abuse content, X’s new Austin team will also work to reduce other types of harmful content.

The​​ ​​​​​​company ​said ​​the ​center ​​​would ​use ​​a ​​“​​cross​-​functional ​approach​​” ​​encompassing ​​policy ​development​​, ​technology ​​tools​, ​​​​and ​​​human ​​​review​​.

Despite the controversies of X’s leadership transition, tackling child exploitation and abuse remains a priority. 

The ​​​​​company’s ​​latest ​​​actions ​​reaffirm ​its ​​commitment ​to ​​​improving ​platform ​​​​​​​​​safety.

As X works to enact Musk’s vision of “unleashing the potential of human consciousness,” stamping out abusive behavior will be essential. 

The​​ ​100 ​new ​hires in ​​Austin represent ​a ​meaningful ​step ​towards that ​​goal.

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