Elon Musk’s job cuts decimated Twitter team tackling child sexual abuse

The team – a mix of former law enforcement officers and child safety experts based in the US, Ireland and Singapore – was stretched before the cuts, working long hours to respond to user reports and legal requests, the people said. — Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP

Elon Musk has dramatically reduced the size of the Twitter Inc. team devoted to tackling child sexual exploitation on the platform, cutting the global team of experts in half and leaving behind an overwhelmed skeleton crew, people familiar with the matter said.

The team now has fewer than 10 specialists to review and escalate reports of child sexual exploitation, three people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified for fear of retaliation. At the beginning of the year, Twitter had a team of about 20, they said.