X, formerly known as Twitter, has defended its response to the Dublin riots in November 2023.
Representatives from the social media company are appearing before a private session of the Oireachtas Media Committee this afternoon.
X had declined an invitation to a public hearing to discuss online safety, disinformation and media literacy, and instead had asked to meet with the committee in private.
In an opening statement, the company said that as soon as it became aware of the stabbing attack in Parnell Square in November 2023 it conducted a proactive sweep of its platform to find content in violation of its rules.
”As a result, we proactively took action on more than 1,230 pieces of content under our rules relating to the riots between 24-28 November,” according to the opening statement.
X said that in Ireland, between August and October 2023, it took action on 1,164 pieces of content and 27,114 accounts for violation of its rules, with 18,735 accounts engaged in manipulation and spam.
“We have also taken action on 964 pieces of content reported to us by the authorities in Ireland,” X said.
on the removal of content (File pic: RollingNews.ie)
The platform, which is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, was criticised for its response to the Dublin riots with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee saying at the time that X’s failure to take down content fuelled some of what happened.
Ms McEntee also accused X of failing to engage with gardaí on the removal of content.
In response, the platform described her comments as “inaccurate” and said it hoped Minister McEntee would clarify her remarks.
