Cleaver and Watson Coleman Tell @Jack that Twitter Must Combat Hate, Racism, and Bots

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) sent a letter on Tuesday to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey about their concerns that Twitter and other social media platforms are being used to propagate hate and undermine democracy. Their letter urges Twitter to take immediate action to identify and suspend Twitter accounts and automated bots that are being used to spread racist and violent behavior, and to adopt measures to hold those users accountable. “We are disturbed by the ease in which foreign actors were able to manipulate your platform to advance anti-American sentiments that both exacerbates racial tension and ultimately threatens our democracy. More importantly, we are disappointed by the silence from you and others in your industry on ways to counter such blatant manipulation of this medium to build racial animosity, the consequences of which are quite literally life threatening. If Twitter continues to prove unable or hesitant to grasp the seriousness of this threat and combat the racialized climate that is being stimulated on your platforms, we, as Members of Congress, will be left with little option but to demand for increased regulations and government oversight of this industry to address these problems,” the letter reads. @Jack, you’re going to need more than 280 characters to reply. See their letter here.