Twitter CEO personally taking call on high-profile accounts: Report
Washington, Sep 4 : As Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gets ready to testify before the US Congress on September 5, reports have surfaced that he is personally weighing in on high-profile decisions to ban controversial accounts, frustrating some employees.
According to a report in Wall Street Journal on Monday, Dorsey overruled a decision by his staff to ban the right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
He also reportedly "instructed his employees to let alt-right provocateur Richard Spencer keep one of his Twitter accounts after the trust and safety team kicked him off the platform in 2016".
Twitter's Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, however, disputed the report.
"Any suggestion that Jack made or overruled any of these decisions is completely and totally false," Gadde was quoted as saying in a statement.
Facing the heat from conservative commentators and lawmakers over alleged censoring of Republicans on Twitter, Dorsey has been called to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about algorithms and content monitoring.
According to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, "Social media platforms are increasingly serving as today's town squares. But sadly, conservatives are too often finding their voices silenced".
"One-sided conversations are an affront to the public mission that serve as the foundations for these social media platforms -- including Twitter," he said in a statement in August.
Later, Dorsey will also testify about election security along with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and a representative from Google before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
In an interview with CNN, Dorsey said Twitter needs more resources to enact rules aimed at tackling heated political rhetoric on its platform.
He said Twitter did not take action against radio host Jones until reports came in, pointing out that he violated Twitter's policies.
"As we receive reports, we take action," Dorsey said. After facing protests on its platform, Twitter had temporarily banned the account of Jones.
US President Donald Trump also tweeted about the issue. "They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others. Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won't let that happen," tweeted Trump.
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Lokayukta raids govt officials in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The Lokayukta on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at the premises of several government officials across different districts of Karnataka in connection with alleged possession of disproportionate assets, officials said.
The searches were carried out at multiple locations linked to officials working in various government departments in districts including Bengaluru, Mandya, Dharwad, Hassan, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Yadgir, among others, they said.
According to Lokayukta officials, the raids targeted officials holding posts such as Assistant Executive Engineer, Junior Engineer, Deputy Electrical Inspector and Taluk Backward Classes Welfare Officer.
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Among those raided was Assistant Executive Engineer M C Satyanarayana of the Hassan Municipal Corporation.
High drama unfolded during the raid at Satyanarayana’s residence in Hassan, where Lokayukta officials were forced to wait outside the house for more than an hour before gaining access as the door was not opened, sources said.
When Satyanarayana failed to respond to requests to open the gate, officials attempted to enter the house by climbing to the first floor.
In another case, officials conducted searches at the residence of Chief Engineer Vasantappa Nayak of Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited located in Akshaya Colony in Hubballi, sources said.
Currently serving in Bengaluru, Nayak had been transferred from Hubballi to Bengaluru in April last year. Officials are carrying out searches at his residence in Akshaya Colony, they said.
The raids were conducted by multiple teams of Lokayukta officials early in the morning at the residences and offices of the suspects following complaints regarding disproportionate assets.
