Elon Musk had removed a feature on Twitter that highlighted the phone numbers of organizations related to suicide prevention, among other things.
Backwards. Twitter is to reinstate a feature that included phone numbers of organizations specializing in suicide prevention, among other things, after coming under pressure from some users and consumer groups.
Reuters reported on Friday that the feature was removed a few days ago, citing two people familiar with the matter who said the decision was made by the social network’s owner Elon Musk.
Ella Irwin, head of trust and safety at Twitter, later confirmed the removal, calling it temporary.
“We have corrected and renewed our proposals. They have been temporarily removed during this time,” Ella Irwin said in an email to Reuters.
“We plan to put them back in place next week,” she added.
Musk refuses to remove the feature
About 15 hours after the information was released, Elon Musk, who did not respond to requests for comment, tweeted, “Wrong, she’s still here.” “Twitter doesn’t do suicide prevention,” he also said on social media in response to criticism from users.
The feature, called “#ThereIsHelp,” lists contacts of organizations that can help people researching mental health, HIV, vaccines, sexual exploitation of minors, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters or freedom of expression.
Concerns about the well-being of vulnerable users
The removal of this feature had prompted some consumer groups and some Twitter users to express concerns about the welfare of vulnerable users of the platform.
Elon Musk announced on Tuesday on Twitter his intention to leave the head of the social network. The owner of the platform had launched a survey the day before asking whether or not he should step down as head of the company, to which 57% of the 17 million voters answered in the affirmative.