EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Changes ‘Health’ Group Amid Spam Bot Debate

In this picture taken on September 27, 2013, people holding their mobile phones are framed against the backdrop of the Twitter logo. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

August 23 (Reuters) – Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) The company is combining teams that work on reducing toxic content and spam bots, according to a staff memo seen on Tuesday by Reuters amid accusations that the company failed to do either job well.

The social media company has combined its health practice team with Twitter’s service team, which works on mitigating misinformation and harmful content, to review user-reported profiles and take down spam accounts. According to an email sent to employees, the new group will be called “Health Products and Services (HPS).”

Ella Irwin, vice president of product for health and Twitter services, who joined the company in June, will lead the HPS team.

Irwin wrote in an email to employees, “We need teams to focus on specific problems, work together as a team and not work in silos. The team will “ruthlessly prioritize” the projects.

The creation of the HPS Group is significant because the company is challenged on many fronts. Former security chief and well-known hacker Peter “Mudge” Zatko has accused the company of misleading federal regulators about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts. Read more

Twitter is fighting Tesla Inc’s. (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk is suing the world’s richest man for allegedly withholding information about how he calculates spam bills as he tries to walk away from a $44 billion deal to buy the company.

Twitter said Tuesday that Zatco’s allegations were aimed at attracting attention and damaging the company, and that it supported its disclosure of spam and bot accounts.

Twitter is preparing to strengthen its defenses against the spread of disinformation ahead of November’s US midterm elections. Read more

“The reorganization of the toxic content and spam groups reflects our continued commitment to prioritizing and focusing our teams on executing our goals,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

The move comes as senior executives, including Kevin Beikpour and Bruce Falk, who oversaw consumer products and revenue, have left the company amid Musk’s turmoil in recent months.

Groups tasked with reducing harmful or toxic content have been hit hard by the departures, said two employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

At least one current employee said the reorganization will not have any impact on their job.

A former employee who worked on security issues at Twitter, I’m not optimistic that the change will be a fix, because the root cause of the company’s spam tag problems has historically been more than one team can manage alone. They did not want to be named for fear of future job opportunities.

Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Additional reporting by Katie Paul Editing by Kenneth Lee, Matthew Lewis and Jamie Freed

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