Twitter's head of 'conversational safety' says company developing apology tools
'I would like to see more empathy and more thoughtfulness,' Christine Su says
Twitter's new head of "conversational safety" said the social media platform is looking to develop apology tools in an interview with tech news website Protocol.
Twitter confirmed the company is "exploring private feedback and apologies" in a statement to FOX Business.
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"During our conversations press event earlier in November, we mentioned that we’re exploring private feedback and apologies, so that people on the service can feel more in control of their conversations and resolve conflict," a spokesperson said.
Christine Su, who describes herself as an "activist-entrepreneur" who wants "more safety," is focusing her efforts on transformative justice, or preventing harm before it happens, and procedural justice, or establishing rules against harm, to make Twitter a safer environment for users, according to Protocol.
"At the highest level, all of us at Twitter are deeply committed to the same mission, which is to serve the public conversation, which is something that I didn't fully appreciate until I got here," she told the outlet. "I would like to see more empathy and more thoughtfulness infused into how Twitter works at a fundamental level."
The Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
As part of her plans for transforming the website, Su wants to implement tools that will empower users to apologize and forgive, which will eventually help deescalate arguments on the platform. Twitter did not immediately respond to an inquiry from FOX Business.
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Su, who previously helped ranchers develop more climate-friendly grazing practices for six years, did not describe how the tools would work in detail but told Protocol that they would act as "a set of controls that people can take with them around digital spaces" and "use them when and if circumstances warrant."
Twitter's product team also recently introduced ideas for a new feature called "Spaces," according to Protocol, which would allow users to take part in group audio calls. The tool is expected to roll out first to women and other groups of marginalized people to test its safety.
The company confirmed that it will be "testing this early version exclusively with a small group of people from marginalized backgrounds, so we can get their feedback first."
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"Table stakes is safety, but then we also want to help define what is a meaningful conversation," Su told the outlet.
Twitter and other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been criticized by Democratic and progressive lawmakers for not taking enough action against users and posts that they argue could cause harm to other users and/or spread misinformation. Republican lawmakers have argued the opposite, that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have too much power in controlling what users do and do not post.