Twitter changes hacked materials rules after backlash over censoring N.Y. Post
16 October 2020
Twitter will be changing its hacked materials policy in response to the feedback it received for limiting the circulation of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden.
Why it matters: The tech giant faced swift backlash from conservatives that its actions were biased and that its enforcement of its hacked materials policy was not consistent.
Details: The company will be making two adjustments to its existing hacked and leaked materials policies, Twitter's Vijaya Gadde tweeted Thursday night.
- Twitter will no longer remove hacked content unless it is directly shared by hackers or those acting in concert with them.
- It will label tweets to provide context instead of blocking links from being shared on Twitter.
Between the lines: Gadde notes that all other Twitter rules will still apply to the posting of or linking to hacked materials, such as its rules against posting private information, synthetic and manipulated media, and non-consensual nudity.
The bottom line: "We believe that labeling Tweets and empowering people to assess content for themselves better serves the public interest and public conversation," Gadde tweeted.
- "The Hacked Material Policy is being updated to reflect these new enforcement capabilities."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.